Cravings
by She-bop
Summary: yaoi; Ichigo, Hichigo, Urahara, Shinji, Kon, Kensai, Uryu; fluffy multi-chapter hurt/comfort type peice; focuses on the development of Ichigo's sexuality after Instinct with Shinji as his S.O.
1. The Craving

This is a fluffy multi-chapter hurt/comfort type piece that sort of resolves what happened to Ichigo after all Ulquiorra and Grimmjaw put him through in one of my other stories. It involves totally different characters so I thought it should be submitted as it's own story. It's pretty random and I'll just warn you ahead of time, Ichigo is basically a cum factory in this. I hope that doesn't bother anybody too much but I just couldn't help myself. You can think of it as sort of a smutty epilogue to _Instinct_ (I'd like to think it could be read as a separate piece within the same slightly alternative universe).

* * *

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it took ya this long to figure it out," the twisted voice inside Ichigo's head taunted.

The teen groaned inwardly. "Why me?" he couldn't help asking himself.

"You should be glad it took as long as it did. Actually, it's happen' a lil' sooner than I expected…I think those arancar friends of yers kick started the process for ya."

"You knew this was going to happen and you didn't warn me?" Ichigo was furious and rightfully so. After all the conversations he'd had with his hollow about the condition the arancar sometimes seemed to suffer from, the idea that something similar might happen to him one day never came up.

"I knew you'd get mad at me no matter if I told ya or not. I didn't see any reason to subject myself to your little hissy fits any sooner than I had ta!" he spat.

"Is it gunna be like theirs? Am I just going to see someone and have to have them or practically die trying?" The need and desperation that the hollow described to him sounded less than tolerable for the young man.

"I dunno. I dun think so. We'll just have to see. Maybe you should go talk to someone about this," he suggested.

"Are you kidding? Who could I possible talk to?" Ichigo nearly laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion.

"Ya have those vizard friends of yers. I bet they know a thing or two 'bout it."

Ichigo growled in frustration. "Damn it! This is so stupid! I shouldn't have to deal with this kind of shit in the first place."

"Why my king, you have to realize that this is a package deal."

"This is not what I signed up for." The teen expected a smart ass comeback from the hollow but instead there was silence. Good. That bastard wasn't exactly helping anyway. But now he was back where he started, what the fuck was he supposed to do? If he had a better idea what was in store for him, he could have come up with some options. As it were, he only saw one option. He had to hide out until he knew how this condition would effect him. There was only one place where he could do that, Urahara's underground training facility. The last time he heard, it wasn't being used and if he requested solitude, there was a fair chance he could get just that.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the hollow chimed in again.

"And I suppose you have a better idea."

"Well, the way that those guys talked 'bout it, you could really hurt yerself if ya try ta ignore it. I say go find someone that meets yer needs and let nature take its course."

"Absolutely not! You know there's no way I would do that!"

"You asked. Not that it matters, yer gunna do whatever ya want anyway, ya always do." The voice fell silent once again.

Well, it was right about one thing, the stubborn teenager did what he wanted in spite of his hollow's warning.

* * *

"Why, I'd be more than happy to lend you the use of my facility. Might I ask why?" Urahara fanned himself.

Ichigo had been through this conversation a million times in his head just on the way to the Urahara Shop so he knew the answer. "I need to train."

"What for?"

"My raietsu, I've been told I need to get it under control," he woefully elaborated. It was embarrassing to so easily admit his shortcomings but this admission was much less embarrassing than the more relevant truth.

Urahara chuckled. "Well, that is true. Would you like some help?"

He'd expected such an offer. "No thanks. I'd like to do this by myself." He received an impressed nod in response.

"I see. Well, by all means," he motioned to the trap door. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Just don't bug me, okay?" The young man lifted the door and began down the ladder.

* * *

Ichigo's plan was largely successful and would have been wholly so if he had not forgotten one small detail. If he was only attempting to keep his raietsu in check, with enough time, he would eventually make some sort of progress resulting in a reduction in the amount of spiritual pressure felt by others. His condition, and true motive, did much the opposite. In fact, he found that at times, it made his energy fluctuate even more wildly than when he was in the heat of battle.

Much to his surprise, the barrage of unfamiliar feelings and emotions, though overwhelming and increasing in frequency, were not constant or regular. It seemed as though he had greater control over himself than either Grimmjaw or Ulquiorra and that gave him a reasonable level of comfort.

"Maybe it's 'cause ya haven't seen anybody yet," the hollow suggested.

That was a definite possibility but not a theory he was willing to test.

"Yer just a big pussy!" it continued to taunt and much to his dismay, he was largely ignored. He knew that if he could get the soul reaper worked up that something would give but apparently, he was aware of that as well and was doing a fair job of saying calm.

This cyclic thought process and it's accompanying routine of sleeping, training, and masturbating continued for the better part of three days before something did give but it wasn't Ichigo or his hollow. Urahara became curious, worried even, by the young man's lack of progress and, under the impression that he was repeatedly making the same fundamental error, which was often the case, he snuck into his basement to have a look-see.

His concern dissipated slightly as he approached the young man to find that he was engaging in the third activity on the list of things he did while he was taking advantage of the shopkeeper's hospitality. A stupid and lecherous grin grew on his face as he ducked back down into his hiding place. He had to hold his hand over his mouth to suppress the childish giggle that came to his lips. Unable to resist a second glance, especially after having stolen the first so easily, he peered around his stony cover once again. This time, he didn't pull back, he just sat and stared.

The young soul reaper sat on the ground leaning against his sword, as it was firmly planted in the ground. His features were soft; eyes barely closed, lips lightly pursed, breath coming in long, deep draws; while one of his hands moved up and down inside his pants. If the older man hiding only meters away had been in doubts about what the young man was doing, they would have been completely dissipated by the soft moan that the boy emitted when he came in his hand.

Urahara's lips twitched when he realized that he was wishing he'd shown up a few minutes earlier so he could have seen the rest of the show. Then, as though god himself had been listening to his thoughts, Ichigo pulled his pants down off his hips, allowing his bare bottom to rest on the dusty ground as he brought his cum covered hand before his face. He scowled slightly at the substance coating his fingers but tasted the end of his index finger just the same. He gave no discernable reaction to the taste as he set his hand back in lap and began leisurely stroking himself again.

"Round two? Very interesting…" the older man thought as he settled in a little.

Ichigo, in spite of his abilities lacking in the raietsu-sensing department, would have noticed the voyeur, that is, if he hadn't been so preoccupied. As it were, this was his second session that day, after a quick one after he woke up that morning, and he was starting to weary of his near-constant need.

"It's just gunna take more every time, ya know that don' 'cha?" the hollow inside his head reminded.

In actually, his need itself only ever got so bad. It was nearly unbearable, but never more than that. At the same time, his hollow was right. Even though it felt like the same amount of need, it took more to satisfy it with every occurrence. Not that he could bring himself to care too much about that at the moment. Instead he was distracting himself with the feeling of rubbing his own cum into his cock, which seemed to already be harder than before the first time he came. It was thick and made his hand sticky as it slid up and down, squeezing lightly before swirling his thumb around the swollen tip.

He bit his lip and began to wish desperately that it was someone else's hand working him toward climax. Unfortunately, the only other hands he had experience with were those of the arancar that had molested him. With little else to go on, his fantasies unwillingly turned toward those strong, greedy, demanding hands. His thoughts quickly turned to what could happen if he'd found one of them to take his frustrations out on.

"Now there's an idea! They seem more than willin' to help each other out. I bet after all you did for them, they'd be happy ta lend ya a hand," the hollow giggled and began contributing his own images to the fantasy, those of being pinned on the ground and slowly milked of his release over and over until he begged them to stop.

That was enough to send the teen over the edge a second time in the presence of his secret audience, this time groaning loudly as he held himself tight. Urahara nearly gave a sympathetic reaction in response but somehow managed to hold it back. The last thing he needed was to come back up the ladder and have Tessai question him about the stain in his pants. He was just about to sneak off when he heard the teen grumble in a pathetic sort of frustration. He took one last look over the large stone he'd been hiding behind to see that Ichigo was still hard.

"Damn this kid has endurance!" Urahara couldn't help thinking with a slightly greedy smile before something occurred to him. As much as it pained him, Urahara left his hiding spot as stealthily as he'd found it. He had a pretty good idea what the boy's problem was and he knew he wasn't the best person to fix it…at least not by himself.

When he emerged from the trap door, he had been right to be suspicious because Tessai was waiting for him. "Ah, Tessai, I need you to do me a favor," he barely hid his grin.

* * *

Shinji arrived later that evening.

"I'm so glad that you could make it on such short notice," Urahara fanned himself.

"Did you tell him that I was coming?"

"No. I thought it would be better if you were to just go talk to him."

"Talk to him…right. You're a terrible liar."

Urahara shrugged and led his old comrade down to the substitute soul reaper. This time, Ichigo was asleep when they found him, making it even easier for them to sneak up on him. They decided to let the young man rest.

"I don't see why you need me for this," Shinji attempted to complain, "It's not like you don't know what to do."

"That may be true but I thought he would take the news a little better if it came from someone with personal experience."

They both knew the shopkeeper was right.

"Besides, I think he trusts you more."

"I can't say that I blame him."

Urahara shifted uncomfortably for a moment before the sounds of Ichigo waking diverted their attention. The orange-haired boy gave a frustrated groan, a sound Urahara recognized.

Shinji stood to get a better look to find that Ichigo appeared to be touching himself. "He certainly doesn't waste time, does he?" he said to his fellow former captain before emerging from their hiding spot. "Oi, Ichigo!" he called with unnecessary volume.

The young vizard nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice. He immediately stopped what he was doing and turned bright red.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" he asked knowingly.

"No," he replied coldly. "What do you want?"

Shinji sat down next to Ichigo, "I'm here to help you out."

"I don't need your help," he spat back while his hollow knew exactly what sort of help he could put the blonde to.

"You're a terrible liar too," he informed with feigned bitterness.

Ichigo didn't reply but the blush that seemed to permanently stain his cheeks said more than any words could.

"I know what's happening to you," he informed.

Ichigo shifted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shinji rolled his eyes in frustration as he put a thoughtful hand on his young friend's shoulder. The thoughtfulness only lasted a short moment before he pushed the orange-haired boy onto his back. "You can't lie to me about this."

"Get off me! What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Ichigo, haven't you wondered why you've felt so strange for the last couple days?"

The teen glared upward and tried to get away again. "Get your damn hands off me!" He struggled to his feet.

Shinji gave an exasperated sigh.

"You are so smooth!" Urahara chided as he emerged from their hiding spot. He figured he'd better make his entrance before his laughter gave him away.

"Agh! What the hell is going on here? Why are you here too?" Ichigo was enraged.

"Kurosaki-kun, please calm down," the shopkeeper pleaded.

"I knew this wouldn't work. You're still an idiot," Shinji told Urahara as he stood and brushed himself off.

"Ya know what? Never mind. I don't care. I'm leaving!" Ichigo attempted to leave but was quickly stopped when Urahara tripped him with his cane. He face planted and was pinned by the same item pressing between his shoulder blades.

"Just listen to what we have to say and then you can go if you want, okay?" the older looking blonde coaxed.

"It doesn't look like I have much choice…" he grumbled and he was released. "Look, I have a pretty good idea why you're here and," he was cut off at that.

"Ichigo, you don't need to panic. Considering your circumstances, it's quite normal," Shinji elaborated.

"It's because part of me is a hollow," Ichigo continued for him and received looks of absolute incredulity in response. He smirked a little. "You expected me to be totally clueless, didn't you?"

"Well…" Urahara wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"This isn't your first time then. This has happened to you before?" Shinji questioned.

"No…but my hollow mentioned it," he half-lied. "Can I go now?"

"Are you gunna take care of it?" Shinji continued to question.

"That's none of your business."

"I'd like to think it is," the younger-looking blonde shot back.

"Why is that?" Ichigo nearly shouted.

"Because if you are, I'd like to know why you turned me down," he gave a sly grin.

Ichigo tried his best to appear disgusted but Shinji was cute enough that his innuendo made that very difficult. He swallowed hard. "I can't do that to you," he turned away and tried to leave again. Again Urahara's cane made contact with him, this time it was much softer. It traveled up the inside of Ichigo's leg until it reached his erection and gave it a couple of rude nudges.

"But you want to, don't you, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo jerked away and blushed even harder. "Damn it! You old pervert, leave me alone." He was going to yell some more but his breath caught in his throat at the feeling of the blonde vizard suddenly behind him.

"You want this. Why are you fighting it so hard?" Shinji nearly whispered into his ear before pressing himself against the soul reaper's back.

"It's…it's wrong," he managed but he could feel hands traveling over his hips. They felt warm and welcoming. Their touch wasn't angry or needy. Rather, it was a nice gentle pressure, enough to make him aware of their presence but not demanding in the least.

"Does it really feel wrong to you?…or are you just saying that because of something that your hollow told you?" One of Shinji's hands moved from Ichigo's hip to his already throbbing erection.

Ichigo was unable to stifle the moan that poured from his lips.

"That's what I thought," he held the boy tight.

Ichigo allowed his eyes to slide shut from the pleasure, if only so he wouldn't ruin the moment by making uncomfortably intense eye contact. What was being done to him now was far more enjoyable than whatever it was that those damned espada did. He found himself melting into the vizard's arms without a second thought.

That worked until Shinji spoke again and this time not to Ichigo, "Kisuke, you idiot, quit staring!"

Ichigo's eyes opened just enough to see the shopkeeper slowly approach them, wiping the blood that dripped from his nose on his sleeve.

Ichigo growled indignantly. "You! This is all your fault! I told you to leave me alone!"

Urahara took the soul reaper's chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted his face to meet his gaze. There was so much heat and pressure barely hidden behind those chocolate eyes that he couldn't help giving him a quick kiss on the nose. "Ichigo, my dear boy, I did this because I was worried about you. You should be glad you have someone as conscientious as me looking out for your better interests." Now he couldn't keep his hands off the orange-haired young man.

Ichigo was absolutely aghast and totally speechless. He wanted to run and hide but his limbs felt like they were made of lead. Their touches made his body tingle and his head spin. Before he knew what was happening he came in his pants, thanks largely to careful attention that Shinji provided. He gave a choked out cry and his knees buckled. They easily caught him and laid him down on the dusty ground. He gave a slight whimper when they began to remove his clothes, Shinji pulling his robes off his shoulders while Urahara went straight for his belt.

Shinji gave a triumphant smile as he finished removing all of Ichigo's clothes above his waist. It quickly turned to a frown when he saw the scar on his shoulder. He traced it with his finger tips. "What's this?"

Ichigo shivered. He knew exactly what the vizard was referring to. "What's what?"

"This scar. Did a hollow bite you?"

He tried not to tense, "Yeah, it was a while ago…" he tried to make it sound like it was nothing and it seemed to work. Shinji simply began placing soft kisses on it and every other little mark on the young man's skin, which was far too many for someone his age. He breathed a sigh of relief when neither of the men molesting him saw fit to say anything about the faint scratch marks that ran down his sides. They simply assumed it was another battle wound. That left one more mark for them to find, one that was much less easily explained, but before he could come up with an excuse, Shinji began toying with one of his nipples, lightly brushing his fingers over it until it hardened and only then rubbing it lightly.

Ichigo gasped at the sensual feelings being afforded him by the two older men. Shinji took that opportunity to turn the substitute soul reaper's head and initiate a nice slow kiss. When Ichigo moaned into his mouth, he held him even tighter, his embrace was strangely protective. He moaned again when the blonde straddling his legs freed his erection. He only pulled his pants down far enough to get to what he absolutely needed before descending on the young man's erection.

With Urahara's parted lips only centimeters from his dripping length, Ichigo gasped and lost himself once again.

"You couldn't have waited just another couple of seconds?" Urahara half-joked.

"I'm glad he didn't," Shinji was quick to defend.

"I'm so sorry," Ichigo managed through his intense embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it," the blonde behind him assured, "he may gripe but look at that smile. He liked it."

Ichigo did look and it appeared that he was right. He'd never seen a more lecherous grin in his entire life and much to his surprise, it turned him on even more. "Try again…" he finally requested.

He didn't need to be asked twice, this time succeeding in enveloping the young man's length and sucking on it for several minutes before he came again, this time in the shopkeeper's mouth. Sometime during that, Ichigo had managed to knock his striped hat off and tangle his fingers in that messy blonde hair.

"Good job, I hate that hat," Shinji complimented.

Ichigo was nearly incoherent at this point.

"Let's give him a break," the blonde vizard suggested.

"Sh-Shinji?" Ichigo weakly called as Urahara withdrew from above his legs.

"Yes, Ichi-kun?"

The teen didn't even notice the nickname, "How much longer?"

"It lasts as long as it lasts. I can say this though, the longer you put it off, the more it takes to get back to normal."

Ichigo grumbled to himself while his hollow reminded that he was the one who said he should go out and get it over with. "What is _it_, exactly?"

"I don't really know what to call it. It just happens sometimes. If you know what to look for you can just have a good romp and get it out of the way. When you wait, the need builds, compounds. It can pass without help but it's so much easier…and so much more fun if you take care of it this way."

Ichigo blinked in incomprehension. That was not the sort of explanation that he'd been expecting.

Seeing that the substitute soul reaper was out of questions for the time being, he moved from his place behind him and crawled around to face him. "Kisuke, go get us a few things, would you?" he asked sweetly while toying with the bottom hem of Ichigo's right pant leg.

"What do you need?"

"Just a little of this, a little of that. Nothing too extravagant, you know," he waved off his old comrade in favor of returning all of his attention to the orange-haired teen. He looked nervous, but no more so than before. When the shopkeeper left, he began to tug on the bottoms of the soul reaper's robes.

"This doesn't make any sense," Ichigo grabbed Shinji's wrist and pulled him close again.

"Of course it doesn't, it has to do with hollows."

"But that's why it doesn't make sense. Hollows only want one other when they get like this."

Shinji gave him a slightly suspicious look but didn't question the source of the boy's information, "but you aren't a hollow. You are a vizard which means part hollow but primarily shinigami," he ran his fingers lightly across that tan stomach.

Could that be the detail that was making his experience so different? Sure the arancar and vizards were extremely similar but they were different sides of the same coin. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed the older vizard by the collar. "One more question," he looked into the other man's honey eyes.

"What is it?" Shinji rested his hand on Ichigo's leg to balance himself and could feel the soul reaper was practically shaking.

"Why did he get you?"

The blonde cocked an eyebrow and frowned. "I can get someone else," he offered.

"That's not what I said."

"He sent Tessai to the warehouse to see if one of us would mind helping you out. As much as he would have liked to do it himself, he knew you'd rather someone with personal experience to guide you through your first time. I happened to be the first one he came across and I didn't let him get any further. He wanted to go discuss it with the girls…but I wouldn't let him."

It was Ichigo's turn to frown. "Why is that?"

"Because they handle this sort of thing a lot better than we do. They're used to cumming more times than they can count… and they can be downright cruel if they know how bad you want it." His tone spoke of personal experience. "I don't think you're quite ready for that yet."

Ichigo was suddenly glad for the company that found him and pulled him in for a tentative kiss. Shinji couldn't help smiling at the soft pressure on his lips. After all that they'd done to him, and all that was yet to come, it was still as sweet and innocent as any first kiss. Ichigo expected the vizard to pick up again from there and was surprised when only the older man simply kissed back, neither pushing him away nor forcing it to become more. The acceptance of this small advance made Ichigo want more so he used his grip on the blonde's collar to pull him even closer so that their bodies were practically touching with Shinji above the teenager.

That was when the kiss deepened. Ichigo thought that they moved in time to do this but in actuality, he had been the first to press further but Shinji reacted so quickly that he didn't even notice. Slowly, he finally let go of the collar in his grasp and pulled away just enough to catch his breath. His fingers were trembling with the urge to undress the older man. It was more than a little awkward that he was, for all intensive purposes, naked while the other was still fully clothed.

"What's the matter?" Shinji finally asked.

Ichigo blushed again, only then realizing that it had subsided during their intimate contact. "I…I wan-" he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"What do you want?" Shinji didn't miss a beat.

Ichigo looked up in slight shock. He didn't know what to say. It was a little to easy. It felt like some sort of trick. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm here because this is something you shouldn't have to suffer through alone…" there was more but he wasn't sure he should tell the young man, for fear of frightening him off. After all it took to get this far, he didn't want to backpedal, but after the look he saw in those impossibly deep pools of chocolate brown, he felt compelled to continue. "Just tell me what you want…and I'll do everything I can for you."

Ichigo blinked almost stupidly. That wasn't as specific of an answer as he'd been hoping for. "What if I don't know what I want?" his voice was much smaller than he'd hoped.

Shinji smiled warmly. "That's okay too," he replied and initiated another kiss.

Ichigo was squirming inside, wrestling with both the feelings he was experiencing now as well as those from his experiences in Heuco Mundo. It still felt like the same thing to him. The result was the same sort of physical release so why did it feel like the complete opposite? Before he could finish that thought, Ichigo felt his hands raise to the top button of the vizard's collard shirt. He slowly began the process of sightlessly unbuttoning the older man's shirt. Shinji smiled inwardly at the feel of those sweet hands carefully undressing him. He couldn't help thinking about how much self control this young man seemed to have. He didn't remember much about his first experience like this but he did distinctly remember literally tearing his partner's clothes off.

Their tongues battled for a moment before Ichigo again withdrew. "I want to…I mean, can I…can I touch you?"

Ichigo's hands were millimeters from the surface of the blondes fair chest and Shinji could feel the intense heat radiating off of them. "You don't have to ask," he replied with a sly smile as he leaned into the waiting fingertips.

At that the boy was lost. His hands groped almost madly at vizard's torso, making sure not to ignore those perfect little nipples. All the while, his tongue searched and tasted the mouth of the other. The blonde simply wrapped his arms around the young man's strong neck and torso and let him do as he pleased.

Ichigo was only barely realized that he was grinding their hips together before he felt the rush of orgasm start to come upon himself once again. "Sh-ah-Shinji, I'm gunna-" he barely choked out before he felt a strong hand wrap around his length and take him over the edge. His body sagged and he rested his forehead on Shinji's chest, breathing heavily.

The vizard gently planted a kiss on the top of Ichigo's head, in the middle of that unruly orange hair. "He's coming back…be here any second now," he informed and felt the boy beneath him tense. "Do you want me to send him away?" he asked, only able to mask the amusement in his voice by smiling, as he could not be seen.

"Could you do that? Having one person see me like this is bad enough," he grumbled weakly.

"I understand. I'll be back in just a moment, don't go anywhere," he smiled playfully before hurrying to intercept the shopkeeper.


	2. Sated

"Ah, where's Ichigo?" the shopkeeper looked about when he saw his old comrade quickly approaching him, a rather determined look in his normally apathetic eyes. "And why are you wearing my hat?"

Shinji didn't say anything until after he took the bag from the other's hand and looked inside. "I said nothing extravagant or are you really that jaded?" He pulled a bottle of lube from the bag and handed the rest back in disgust. "Thanks."

"He's made quite a mess of you already," Urahara commented at the sight of Shinji's open shirt and the cum that stained his skin as well as his clothes. There was a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

"You can go now," the vizard told him evenly.

Urahara suppressed the majority of the hurt look that flashed across his features. "I see. Is this your decision or his?"

"His. Thank you, Kisu," he took the bucket hat from his head and placed it on that of his friend as he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Here's your hat."

The older looking blonde appeared disappointed.

"I know your tricks," Shinji warned, "and that's not one of your better ones."

"I suppose not. Take good care of him for me okay?" his tone was unusual, sincerity mixed with mischief.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head. Now, go guard the door for us, 'kay?" he shooed the other former captain away. A few moments later, when the shopkeep was out of earshot, he called, "You can come out now, he's gone."

Ichigo peered out from around one of the larger boulders nearby. He wasn't sure why he didn't expect to be caught. Now that he thought about it, both of them probably knew that he was there. At least hiding had served its primary purpose, neither of them could see his expression while they had their exchange, shielding him from that level of embarrassment. "Thank you," he said softly as he approached.

"I told you that I would do whatever you wanted." He finally turned and made eye contact with the young man as he drew closer.

That still bothered the teen a little bit. Saying it that way made it sound like he was in control of the situation, which he clearly was not. "You don't have to do this," he offered.

"I know. Now, where were we?" he wrapped his arms around Ichigo's waist. He was about to kiss him again when he felt the teen tense but before he could say anything about it, Ichigo finished the motion for him.

The feeling of the older vizard's tongue on his own was making it difficult for him to breathe, so the kiss didn't last very long before it was broken and the soul reaper buried his face in the neck before him. When he felt the slender form in his arms shiver, he spoke again, "So, what do you get out of this?"

"You think I'm not enjoying myself?" he asked incredulously and pressed his body against the orange-haired young man, allowing his anxious arousal to be felt.

The feeling of the other's obvious excitement renewed the fire within the substitute soul reaper and he finished the job he started earlier of removing the blonde's shirt, letting it slide off his shoulders, down his arms, and to the dusty ground. Then, he was more than pleased at the feeling when he pressed their bare chests together. "So, what was in that bag?" he let his curiosity get the better of him as he slide his hands as far inside the back of the vizard's pants as he could.

"If you really want to know…you can ask him yourself…but I'll warn you ahead of time, he prefers demonstrations to explanations." He followed a similar path by untying the soul reaper's sash and letting his pants fall to the ground under their own weight. Ichigo shivered at his sudden nudity and clung to his partner. "Mmmm…Shinji," he mewled. "Make me cum again," he nearly begged and then nearly fell when the vizard suddenly slipped from his grasp to kneel before him.

At this point, he fully expected the blonde to start by teasing him which meant that he was more than surprised when he took the whole of him into his mouth and throat with one shot and swallowed around him several times, making him cum. He groaned and had to rest some of his weight on the man on his knees or he would have toppled over, on hand on his bare shoulder, the other on his head.

As soon as the spasms subsided, he didn't even think before he used the hand now tangled in silky blonde hair to start moving the vizard's head. "More…please…" he barely moaned.

If Shinji had had time to smile, he would have, as it were, his lips were quite occupied. Instead, he took hold of the young man's hips to steady himself as he worked to oblige the request spoken in such a beautifully husky voice that he could not refuse. This was the sort of desperately horny state that he'd expected to find the soul reaper in when he'd first approached. When he felt the young man about to cum again he removed the hands from his head so that he could back off enough to actually catch the seed in his mouth, instead of having it go straight down his throat, so that he could taste it. He pulled away, making sure to obviously savor the thick fluid, while looking up at the younger vizard, eyes smoldering.

Now that was a look Ichigo had seen before, or at least it was very similar. It made him second guess himself. "Don't look at me like that," he quickly turned away.

Shinji pouted and took the length in his hand. The young man before him had a strange beaten-puppy look about him and it was as alluring as it was unnerving. "Awww, don't be that way. I only look at ya like that 'cause I like ya." Then something occurred to him, "Have you ever done this before…I mean with another guy?"

"Why are you asking me that?" he still couldn't meet the gaze of the kneeling man.

"'Cause I want to know how much of the tutorial you need," he half-joked. If he was going to be walking this boy through his first time, he wanted to make sure he didn't miss any of the steps, at least none of the important steps.

"Umm…yeah then, I have…" Ichigo barely answered and fully expected to be asked about it but the man on his knees appeared relieved.

"Good, you know how it works then. I hate explaining things like that. Innocence is nice but it can only get you so far."

Perhaps, in some small twisted way, his experiences with Grimmjaw and Ulquiorra would work in his favor. They had, albeit rudely, taught him the basics and without mocking his inexperience. In actuality, he would never really realize how much they relied on it. That's when he decided that he wasn't totally in the dark. He may have never experienced this before but he was apparently witness to something far worse to endure and learned a thing or two from it. "Just how far can it get you?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What? You wanna play like this is your first time?"

"Let's just say my first time wasn't that great…"

"Well this is a different first…perhaps this one will be better." He looked up at his friend with an expression that spoke almost completely of warmth and genuine affection, almost. There was also an unerring undertone of desire. "Come here," he took Ichigo by the hand and pulled him into his lap. The orange-haired boy appeared only a bit hesitant as he kneeled down, his knees on either side of the other's hips, but offered no resistance. In fact, he was quite quick to comply even though it was clear that he was still highly embarrassed. Shinji found it rather cute and it took a fair amount of his self-control to handle this young man properly. During yhe near-fall, the blonde vizard noticed an imperfection on the inside of one of his legs. He didn't really think much about it, other than that it was another detail he could explore. "Ichigo, I want to make you feel good so, if I do something you like, be sure to let me know."

With that sentiment in mind, the former captain poured some of the lubricant onto his fingers and began massaging the teen's aching length. He moaned and bucked his hips a little. Shinji smiled and took a moment to put some on his other hand before going back to what he was doing. He used his free hand to go between Ichigo's legs and begin probing at his backside.

Instinctively, the soul reaper spread his legs a little further.

"Do you mind if I do this?" he asked, better late than never, right?

"Is it 'cause you wanna-" Ichigo almost mumbled. Had their faces not been inches apart, he would not have been heard.

"That's a tricky question. Sure, if you want me to, I'd love to…but that's _entirely_ up to you. There are so many ways to have fun that it doesn't make any difference to me." That wasn't entirely true and he could tell the younger man above him understood that from his voice. He wasn't going to force himself but he definitely wouldn't need to be asked twice if such a request was made.

They didn't talk for a long while after that. Ichigo had just about forgotten what words were. Most of what came out of his mouth at this point was moans as he rocked his hips back and forth, receiving almost equal amounts of pleasure from both the hand stroking his cock and the one threatening to invade his body.

After the first couple times Ichigo pushed back on his fingers, Shinji felt confident enough to actually push one inside. It didn't take long after that for him to add a second. The orange-haired vizard marveled at the sensations being provided him. It felt strangely similar to what Ulquiorra had done to him during his first visit to Heuco Mundo but this time the intimacy and affection was real. This time, his partner wasn't forcing preparations upon him. Rather, he was doing it just for the sake of the younger man's pleasure.

Now, if Shinji hadn't just told Ichigo that he'd wait for the okay to penetrate him, they way the substitute soul reaper was riding his fingers would have caused him to pin the young man to the ground and screw him senseless. He figured that this was probably something Ichigo wanted anyway so he was willing, albeit reluctant, to wait until he was asked. During the end of this train of thought, he felt the thick ring of muscle contract around his fingers, not pushing him out, just squeezing him tight, signaling another release for the desperate young vizard. He came with a deep throated groan and held his friend's shoulders so tightly that he most likely left bruises.

If this had been anything close to normal sex, he would have paused there for a moment, allowing them both a moment to collect their breath and thoughts. But, that of course, was not the case. So, once he felt the teen relax enough, he inserted a third finger, this time actively searching for the prostate. It wasn't difficult to find, as the state he was in caused it to swell slightly, and once he did, Ichigo's hips were in motion once again.

"Aaah," he gasped at the feeling.

"Is that it?" the blonde asked knowingly.

"Ah-yeah…right there. Ah--aha--naah…harderharderharder," he pleaded and was immediately rewarded by the older vizard using more of his strength to strike the boy's sweet spot. "Ah-ah-yesyesyes," he hoarsely whispered into Shinji's neck as he came again thanks to those talented hands.

"It's all rather cathartic when you think about it," Shinji remarked when Ichigo sat down in his lap after his most recent orgasm. He just received a dazed look in response. Not that he cared, he rather liked that look, actually. Instead of continuing along that line of thought, he just brought their lips together for another sweet little kiss. "I know you'd like to rest but we need to keep going."

Ichigo nodded weakly in agreement. He didn't have to be told, he could feel that it wasn't over yet. "Shinji…" the name of the other rolled off his tongue so easily now but he wasn't sure if it was a plea, a request, an affection, or something else entirely.

"Yes, Ichi-kun" he couldn't help calling him that when he looked up into those beautiful chocolate eyes so full of heat and need. When he didn't receive an answer, he laid the orange-haired young man on his back.

"I think I'd like to try…having you inside me. I think that would be…really good."

Shinji smiled. He didn't think it would be that easy. With a nod of affirmation, he spread Ichigo's legs so that he could actually prepare him. It wasn't until that moment that he could actually get a good look at the strange scar on the young man's inner thigh. Shinji immediately recognized it as a hollow bite but it was different from the one on his back. He started by tracing it lightly with the tips of his fingers, hoping that the young man might say something about it.

"Please, ignore that," Ichigo pleaded. He needed more pleasure not more shame.

"You didn't get this in a fight, at least not a normal fight, did you?" Shinji asked, the slightest amount of worry slipping through.

Ichigo weakly shook his head 'no'.

"If you don't mind me asking, why would you let a hollow bite you here?"

Again, he shook his head 'no'.

Shinji frowned. "You didn't really let them, did you?"

Ichigo tried to glare but there was too much hurt in his features for it to be effective. He didn't really want to admit that he'd pretty much told Ulquiorra to do it. "It was an arancar…he needed me," was all he could come up with without telling the whole stupid story.

"I see." The older vizard appeared pensive for a moment. He knew he wasn't getting the truth, at least not the whole truth, but decided not to push it too much right now. To help soothe the young man, he began fingering him again, this time actively stretching while jerking the throbbing erection just above. "Well, you should definitely be more careful. This arancar that needed you, was he your first?" he asked suspiciously.

Ichigo nodded 'yes'. He didn't really want to lie but that was as close to the truth that he could manage.

"Those are Aizen's creatures. Does he know?"

He nodded again and then almost wished he hadn't. The look the blonde vizard gave him was one of inexplicable guilt and poorly hidden anger. "Shinji, don't make me wait," he rolled his hips against the other man's hands, hoping to diffuse the distraction that his scar had caused.

The wanton tone of the young man's voice as well as the look on his face was more than enough to bring Shinji back to the task at hand. "Do you really want me inside you, Ichi-kun?" The question caused the vizard's features to take on their previously mischievous air.

Ichigo didn't want to respond verbally. Instead, he reached up and started to work on Shinji's belt. Once that was unfastened, he went straight for the button and fly. He'd been so caught up in his condition that he hadn't realized how excited his partner might be. He laughed a little, "You really are enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked with playful suspicion.

"I told you," he gave the substitute soul reaper a quick kiss before withdrawing just enough to remove his pants. "I don't see why you're so surprised. If helping out one of your nakama was so easy and so gratifying, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity." Before he returned to Ichigo, he poured some of the lubricant onto his length.  
"Well, when you say it like that…"

"Besides, I'm getting the distinct impression that if I was in your situation, you'd be willing to help me out," he gave a sly grin.

The idea that Shinji would want him to do that for him never really crossed his mind. "You'd want me…let me…" was all he could manage at the sight of the blonde vizard approaching him.

The older vizard had to stifle his laughter. Of course he would, how could there be any doubt in Ichigo's mind at this point was totally beyond him. Instead, he positioned himself at the younger vizard's opening. "You ready?"

No verbal reply was necessary. Ichigo just pushed back enough to give his answer and was impaled shortly thereafter. He cried out, his eyes glazing over for a moment as he felt himself being thrust in and out of. After the first couple of thrusts, he spoke again, "Sh-Shinji, stop!"

The blonde vizard grunted in frustration but stopped moving as soon as he was told. His breathing was ragged as he controlled the urge to ignore the order. "What's the matter?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Ichigo looked up sheepishly, a bit ashamed, "You had that look in your eyes…I just wanted to see if you'd listen…"

Shinji blinked downward in disbelief. He wanted to ask what look he was talking about but there was a more pressing question on his mind, "Can I go again, then?" He could feel his hips shaking with the desire to continue the delicious friction that he'd only been permitted a small taste of.

Ichigo nodded and from that point until Shinji came inside him, he just bucked and moaned beneath the slender body above him. The only words he could seem to form were please for more, harder, faster, anything to get him off again. He hardly realized when he came three times, rapid fire, before Shinji lost himself inside him with a loud groan.

After his orgasm, Shinji slid out of Ichigo and laid down on top of him to catch his breath.

"Shinji…I'm sorry for stopping you," Ichigo said while running his fingers through his now messy blonde hair.

He gave an affectionate smile in response. "It's okay. I understand." He sat up again and looked down at the teen's erection. "You ready to finish this?" he asked as he brushed some of the hair away from his face

Ichigo nodded. "What do I need to do?"

"Well…this is the part that you might not want to hear."

"Just tell me."

"Your hollow…it's been telling you to do something."

Ichigo had been rather successful in blocking out whatever his hollow might have to contribute to this encounter and wasn't exactly keen on giving him any leeway at this point.

"Just listen to him for a moment. You need to do what he tells you. You're exhausted enough now that once he's satisfied, this'll all be over."

It was obvious that Ichigo didn't want to hear that.

"Come on. Give in, just this once," he tried to coax while stroking the teen's erection.

Ichigo grit his teeth. "But it's not just this once, is it? It'll be every time. If I give him that much, how much more will it take next time or the time after that?"

"It's not like that. You're not relinquishing control. Think of it as indulging him. Actually, I found mine was much easier to control if I gave in like this every once in a while. Just listen to him for a moment," he repeated and when the soul reaper shook his head 'no', he continued, "Look, it took us a _long _time to figure out that that is the only thing that really works. I know you don't trust your hollow, and rightfully so, but is it really worse than locking yourself away like some sort of monster, especially when you're not hurting anybody? Give yourself a little credit, most of us didn't last half as long as you did before we were frothing at the mouth, figuratively speaking of course," he retracted offhandedly. "You're the kind of person that, in this situation, could only potentially hurt themselves because they don't trust themselves. But I trust you so please,trust me." His tone was even as he tried to convince the young man that by doing this, he would not turn into the creature who had taken his innocence.

Ichigo closed his eyes and stopped blocking out his hollow. It was screaming, "Fuck him, right now damnit! Screw him 'till he can't walk! Pound him into the dirt so hard that he screams your name!" Ichigo blushed and couldn't make eye contact for a long moment after that.

"That good?"

"He…he said-"

"Don't tell me. Just do it," he ordered, leaving no room for discussion.

That was it. He couldn't hold it back any longer. Ichigo pushed Shinji to the ground, not caring that he got a mouth full of dirt in the process,

Shinji just laughed. "Here," he handed the bottle to the orange-haired vizard. "unless he wants you to ride me raw, I'd really appreciate it."

Again, he didn't say anything. He simply followed his friend's advice but only taking a moment to coat himself before thrusting inside with unmarked abandon.

Shinji nearly screamed and not entirely out of pain. It was just a lot all of a sudden, that's all, even though he had been expecting it. However, it was enough to cause Ichigo to hesitate. He scowled over his shoulder at the young man, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"You-I…" His self control was only holding by a thread at this point. That one thin line consisted of the idea that he'd somehow hurt the other man and Shinji was right, that was something he would rather die than do. Fortunately or otherwise, Ichigo was incredibly stubborn so a single thread was enough to hold it together, of only just barely.

"Don't stop, you retard!" he continued his commands.

The thread snapped. Shinji cried out again and was thankful that it didn't cause the same reaction. Instead, he moved faster, harder, more frantic than before. He finally gave in and it felt sinfully good for the both of them. He would later feel a strange mix of guilt and pride at noticing the bruises his hands were leaving on the other's fair and slender hips. He wasn't exactly the possessive type but leaving some sort of mark on his partner had some strange sort of appeal. At least bruises wouldn't be permanent.

It was only after the second time that Ichigo came without skipping a beat that Shinji realized that he'd gotten hard. He knew he'd become aroused again but he didn't think it would be enough to make him want to come again. Without another thought, he reached down and started pumping his returned erection.

Ichigo orgasmed once more before he realized what the older vizard was doing. His hollow started screaming directives at him once again. "Don't let him do that! That's your job!" The soul reaper reacted so quickly that it was as though his hollow was in control. "Make him cum for you…"

Shinji started at the feeling of the young man's strong hand pulling his away so that it could do the work. "Aaaah…Ichi-kun…" he started instinctively rolling his hips and moments later spilled himself on the dusty ground. The spasms that rocked his body pulled Ichigo over the edge with him and for the final time.

The orange-haired teen collapsed immediately afterward.

Shinji groaned at the sudden weight resting on his back before rolling over so that they could lay next to one another. He didn't usually care for being the little spoon but this time he was tired enough to make an exception. Then he too took a nap.

* * *

The older vizard awoke about an hour later when he felt his old comrades raietsu signal his approach. Without even really thinking about it, he quickly put Ichigo's pants back on. His friend was upon him by the time he started on his own.

"It appears everything went well," the shopkeeper commented, distracted from Ichigo's prone form by Shinji's slender body slowly sliding his trouser back up.

"Kisuke, this kid is damaged goods." He informed seriously.

The man in the bucket hat and sandals gave a small chuckle. "It hardly appears that you damaged him."

"You know that's not what I mean. He had a run-in with a needy arancar," he explained.

Urahara looked like he didn't want to believe it but he'd already suspected something along these lines. "So that was a bite mark on his leg."

"Yeah," he nodded confidently.

"Do you think it means anything?" He turned a curious eye to the young man on the ground.

"I don't know. He didn't really want to talk about it," the vizard replied dryly. "Can't say that I blame him."

"It certainly explains some of his behaviour."

Shinji shrugged because that much was common sense. "Look, I don't wanna be rude but...do you need anything?"

"I just came to check on you. After things got quiet, I started to worry." Only then did his gaze turn from curious to lecherous.

"As you can see, we're fine. Now please, he needs some peace."

Urahara sighed, "Okay, well, just let me know if you need anything," he replied bitterly as he turned to leave. Before he could get very far he felt a strong hand on his sleeve pulling him back.

"Don't be mad."

The man in green gave an offended look. "I'm not mad."

"Then why is your attitude so poor?"

"I'm just..." he didn't really want to say it but at this point he really didn't have a choice, "disappointed and maybe a little jealous, that's all. Can you blame me?"

Shinji smiled, "No, I guess not. Thanks," he gave his friend a quick swat on the ass and sent him on his way.

* * *

Ichigo awoke some time later. He felt better rested than usual and feeling quite content. It took a moment for him to realize that his head was resting on someone's lap. It was a comforting feeling and he decided not to open his eyes quite yet. He wanted to enjoy this moment. As he replayed the events not only of this encounter but of his two previous encounters through his memory, one thing was for sure, he was not provided the comfort of post-coital cuddling and it was that sort of thoughtfulness that was lacking in his prior experiences that made the memories almost unbearable at times. However, he felt like a kitten in the older vizard's lap as he felt his hair being stroked, fingers running through his messy hair and lightly running along his scalp. If he could purr, he would have.

Instead, he slowly let his eyes slide open as he lazily smiled upward. "You stayed with me," he needlessly stated.

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Actually, you've been out for a quite a while so I left a couple of times."

"How long was I out?" He was suddenly concerned.

"About sixteen hours."

It was only then that Ichigo noticed that they were both wearing pants. "You redressed me."

"Just enough to preserve your sense of modesty. I knew Kisuke would check in on us eventually and I didn't think you would appreciate him leering at you." He giggled a little at the memory of the disappointed look on his old friend's face.

"Thank you," Ichigo finally said as he sat up to face the blonde vizard.

"Any time," Shinji winked and gave Ichigo a chaste peck on the cheek, "It was fun."

Ichigo blushed a little and suddenly became almost painfully self-conscious.

"Don't worry, I won't brag too much."

"B-brag?"

"Well yeah, you're pretty cute. Oh, and you should be kinda nice to Kisuke for the next couple days."

Ichigo gave him a concerned, but suspicious look. "Why?"

"Because he really was looking out for you even if he is a huge perv…and he really wanted to stay and play with you. You'd've had a good time if you'd let him stay but I understand why you made him leave."

"You made him leave," he sarcastically reminded.

"And only because you told me to, well mostly."

"Okay, I'll be nicer to him…wait, what do you mean mostly?"

"Well…there was a sort of allure to having you all to myself," Shinji smirked. When the young vizard's blush intensified, he decided to throw him a bone. "It's looks like that that make people want you…well, that and the fact that you really are cute. It's a good thing you don't realize it, you'd be likely to use it to your advantage and that's likely to get you in trouble."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively. He wasn't exactly keen on being called cute so many times in one conversation.

"Well, hypothetically speaking of course, if you knew Kisuke only treats you the way he does, like flirting with you for example, because he likes how you react to him and then used that to get under his skin. …or if maybe he makes you mad on purpose because you're adorable when you're angry and you decided to not get mad. I think that would really bother him. He's under a lot of stress, you know, it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of his weaknesses like that."

Ichigo blinked a couple of times before giving a slightly stupid smile. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." He cocked an eyebrow. "Hypothetically, why would you be telling me this?"

"Now, and this would be pure speculation but, I believe you might be told so that you have more level ground on an obviously skewed playing field." He paused for a moment, "He's coming back."

Ichigo frowned.

"What's the matter this time?"

He looked around to see if the shopkeeper was in earshot. Seeing that he was not, he replied in a hushed voice. "I didn't really get to thank you," he gave an impish grin.

Shinji grinned back. "Can I take a rain check?" As much as he would have liked to see what Ichigo had in mind, he also liked the idea that he would be owed a favor.

The orange-haired young man smiled in affirmation just before Urahara entered his vision.

"It's good to see that you're finally awake. I was beginning to worry," he half teased.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," Ichigo tried to be nice, as Shinji suggested.

Urahara was a little taken aback by the young man's cheerfulness but found it pleasant nonetheless. "Happy to hear it. Oh, Shinji, there is someone here to see you."

They two vizards stood up and brushed themselves off. They both grabbed their shirts but Shinji didn't bother to put his back on because it was so messy. Shortly after, they followed the man in the bucket hat back up the ladder and into the shop.

It was Lisa. She adjusted her glasses and eyed them carefully.

"What's up?" Shinji prompted as he approached his comrade with a flirtatious grin.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. You disappeared without a word last night." She smirked at Ichigo, "I see there was nothing to worry about…and I can also see why you didn't say anything."

Ichigo blushed but the flattery was enough to make it worth not making a big deal about it.

He playfully stuck his tongue out at his spectacled comrade, revealing the strange mark centimeters from the tip, before giving a response. "Okay, well, I'll be going now." He winked over his shoulder at Ichigo. "See ya soon." He wrapped an arm around Lisa and received a prompt smack on the back of the head, making him face-plant.

Once then were gone, Ichigo turned to Urahara. He hadn't realized how closely they were standing until he turned and decided not to back away. Instead, he tried to control his nervousness by remembering what Shinji had said and what it implied. "Ummm…thanks."

"Not a problem at all. I know you didn't really mean for me to find out but I still feel like you came to me when you needed help. That means a lot to me." He was being sincere but, as always, it sounded as though he was being facetious.

Even though he didn't really trust the older man's tone, he took him at his word and decided to play along, "It's nice to have someone around that I can trust." He smiled and at that he could swear that he saw the slightest blush creep across the blonde's cheeks. It made him want to see the look in his eyes so he did something that he'd wanted to do since his very first meeting with the mysterious man, he pushed the bucket hat up so that he could see his eyes. "I mean it," he added and was rewarded when he saw genuine affection in those dark orbs.

The split second before he could reach up and touch the young man, he withdrew from his reach. So instead he pulled his hat back down. "You are quite welcome then." He was disappointed to see that Ichigo was on his way out of the shop but made no move to stop him. The closeness they shared moments ago was enough to sustain his contentment and even repair some of the bruising his ego suffered after Ichigo turned him away.

* * *

More? Yes? No? … please help me decide if it's worth it and thank you for reading either way.


	3. Lesson 1

Urahara could hardly believe the sight before him. It happened so fast that he didn't really have time to think about it and now he was faced with something of a dilemma.

Ichigo apparently decided to stop by and pay the shopkeeper, as well as the rest of the residents, a visit. It had been a couple of weeks since the strange incident in his 'basement' and he stopped by a few times before this but he never lingered like this.

They sipped tea while sitting and talking between the times the shop had a customer. Ichigo was surprised to see that he actually had a fair sized clientele of young children who came to shop after school and that he knew almost all of them by name. The substitute soul reaper found it all very endearing, as it was a side of the older man that he'd never really gotten to see before.

"You're really good with kids," Ichigo remarked, pushing his cup back over to his host to signal his desire to be served more.

He quickly obliged, "Thank you," he managed. Even though it had been happening a lot recently, Ichigo's laid back attitude and general cheerfulness toward him was still something that seemed to fluster him. He almost preferred the short-tempered irrational responses that he received prior to the incident. At least with those he wasn't as tempted to slowly start scooting closer to the handsome young man seated across the table from him. Now that he was being nice, it was difficult not to want to take advantage of that. What's the worst that could happen? Ichigo would get angry, so what? It's not like he hadn't angered the young man to veritable extremes in the past and somehow he always got over it.

"I almost hate to say this, but have you ever thought about being a teacher?" he half-joked, half-complimented.

Urahara laughed. "I've taught before but I don't have the ethics for it as a career," he replied.

Ichigo knew that wasn't really a joke but he found it amusing nonetheless. "Yeah, I don't think that most students want to be nearly killed by their teacher."

It had been a while since the former captain had considered his relationship with Ichigo to be that of the student/teacher variety. It seemed to have surpassed that stage rather quickly, perhaps because he had nearly killed the young soul reaper during their training together. After all, that is a pretty good motivator. He wondered why it was being brought up now. "It worked," he tried not to sound like he was bragging but that didn't really happen.

Ichigo looked around nervously for a moment before looking back to his host.

"Is something the matter, Kurosaki-kun? You've seemed a little…preoccupied since you got here."

"Well," he looked around again and seeing that they were, for the moment, alone, he finally gave into his curiosity, "Don't get any weird ideas because of this but I've been wondering…what was in that bag?"

Urahara blinked in incomprehension. "What bag?"  
"You know, that day when Shinji and I…and you…downstairs…" he sort of danced around saying 'that day Shinji and I fucked in your basement' and hoped the older man wasn't going to make him actually say it.

"So you were watching us," he finally smiled knowingly. "You're curious about what was in _that _bag?"

"Um, yeah." At that point Ichigo couldn't control the blush that was flaring on his cheeks but his nervousness was soothed by knowing it was that sort of reaction that really got to the older man.

"I don't know if I want to tell you," he flipped out his fan just in time to hide his grin.

Ichigo frowned. "Why not? You were gunna before, what's different now?"

"Let's just say that you would most likely find the items in that bag far more objectionable now than you would have that evening."

"I already know you're a pervert. I still don't see what difference it makes…" he pretended to think for a moment, "unless you were gunna use my condition to take advantage of me, try to get me to do stuff I normally wouldn't even think about doing." His tone was accusing but with an undertone of playfulness. He'd thought about asking the mysterious older man about this sort of thing during the next time he was feeling the need for satisfaction but he quickly realized that if he was going to play with this man, he needed his wits about him.

"I would never dream of taking advantage of you," the blonde feigned offence even though it was obviously a lie. His dreams were most often the place where he took advantage of the handsome teen.

"Well then, what is it?"

Urahara gave a sigh of resignation before standing. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he nearly grumbled and led the young man to his bedroom, a large room isolated from the rest of the building.

* * *

Moments later, he was faced with the sight of the orange-haired teen with his nose in a bag of sex toys. He wasn't sure if he should dance with joy or to run as fast as he could as far as he could. When items started being removed for closer examination, he instinctively locked the door.

"Why'd you do that?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"The last thing I need is Tessai bursting in here at a time like this. He'd beat the living hell out of me if he saw this."

"But we're not doing anything," Ichigo innocently pointed out.

Urahara rolled his eyes, which was lost on the young man because they were hidden beneath the rim of his hat. "That doesn't matter. People always assume the worst."

"I'll just tell him that I asked you about it," he tried to defend because, as far as he could tell, they hadn't done anything that could be considered 'wrong'…yet.

The older man sighed heavily. He knew Ichigo was dense, but how could he not realize just how bad this looked even if they were across the room from one another, not touching, and hardly even looking at one another.

"Whatever, it's your house," Ichigo shrugged. When he pulled out a ball gag, he glared at the blonde.

"That wasn't for you," he commented at the sight of the object. "Those are Shin-chan's teeth marks in the rubber."

Ichigo's eyes grew wide at the idea, "He lets you call him that?"

"He can't stop me when he's wearing that," he informed.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably and set it aside to search for something else. Two vibrators and a cock ring later, he pulled something out that he couldn't identify. "What are these?" he held two metal clamps in his open hand.

Urahara pursed his lips for a moment before forming an answer, "If you don't know…I don't want to tell you."

He examined them again. They were small and appeared disarmingly harmless, which made him even more nervous. "C-could you show me then?"

Urahara's heart nearly stopped. "I don't think that would be appropriate." He barely refused.

"Ah, but you want to, don't you?" Ichigo smirked in spite of his blushing, or maybe because of it.

The older man fanned himself as the teen crawled toward him, not stopping until he was kneeling before him.

"You'd love to show me, wouldn't you?" the substitute soul reaper looked up, his eyes dancing with mischief, "Please? Urahara-sensei…" Before, he never would have dreamed of calling him that but in this instance he was glad that he did because the look he received was absolutely priceless. Urahara was practically drooling.

"You are a terrible young man," Urahara informed as he walked around the teen on his knees.

Ichigo pouted but his eyes were still playful.

Urahara brought the end of his cane to Ichigo's chin and raised it, he wanted a better look at his face. "Why are you tempting me like this?…and believe me, you are very tempting."

"It's not really fair for you to ask that, Urahara-sensei."

The way Ichigo was saying his name was going straight to his groin and it made his lips twitch. "Why is that?"

"Because you take every opportunity you get to tempt me," he admitted. It was something that he'd felt for some time now. With as forward as the older man had a tendency to be, he was bound to do something about it eventually but neither of them really expected it to come to this.

He saw no other possible reply to that. "Unbutton your shirt," he ordered with a sigh of resignation.

Ichigo grinned again and slowly began by pulling his shirt out of the top of his pants. When he was equally slow with the buttons on his shirt, he received a swat on the ass from Urahara's cane. "Agh! What the hell was that? I was doin' what ya told me to do!" One more smack caused him to shut up and simply glare.

"You will not raise your voice at me. Do you understand that?"

Ichigo nodded obediently.

"Good." Another swat, "And you will not waste my time or I will cut those buttons off myself."

"Yes, Urahara-sensei," he barely replied before quickly setting to work.

"That's much better. You've always been a quick study. It seems this is no different." He knelt down behind the young man and sat down on the floor, pulling him into his lap. Without another word, he began toying with his nipples.

Ichigo moaned a little and wiggled in the older man's grasp.

"I'm glad you like that." He commented offhandedly while continuing to tease them to hardness. Once that was accomplished, he spoke again. "Now, hand me those," he ordered with an open palm.

"Huh? What?" He'd gotten so caught up in what was being done to him that he almost forgot about the small objects in his hand. "Oh, here." He felt the slight heat of embarrassment creep across his cheeks.

"Thank you," he said in a husky voice into the young man's ear as he leaned over his shoulder so he could see what he was doing.

Ichigo gave a whimper when the first clamp was attached to his nipple and then actually whined at the second. "That's it?" he asked through gritted teeth and felt more than heard the other man's dark chuckle in response before he started to gently tug on them. He wiggled and moaned at the sensation it was then that he noticed the erection pressing into the small of his back. He pushed back against it without really even thinking. Before Shinji said something to him about it, Ichigo was under the impression that the blonde shopkeeper had been teasing him simply to get a rise out of him. He never really considered that it would be he that 'got a rise' out of the older man so easily. "This seems rather pointless. Weren't you just doing that with your hands?" His tone was breathier than he intended but it only seemed to help.

"Ah, but what if I want to use my hands to do other things?" he playfully suggested.

"L-like what?" he was almost afraid to ask but at this point he saw no real reason not to.

"Whatever I please," he replied cockily but didn't actually stop teasing the young man's nipples. In fact, he got even rougher, no longer lightly pulling while twisting and flicking.

"Ow! Hey, that kinda hurts!" he complained and was pushed onto his hands and knees in response. Before he could complain about that, he received and open-handed spank on his already slightly tender backside.

"I told you not to raise your voice at me. I find it highly offensive. After all, I am sticking myself out there just to show you a thing or two." As much fun as this was, he was still painfully aware of how much trouble he could get into if they were to get caught like this.

"My apologies, Urahara-sensei." Ichigo bowed his head in a gesture of sincerity but it was really to hide his smile.

"That's much better," he cooed as he ran one of his hands up and down Ichigo's back, allowing his shirt to slide against his skin. "You're taking this much more seriously than I expected," he commented offhandedly.

"Is there something I can do better?" he asked, his voice confident but still unusually small for him.

"No, of course not. It's just that…it feels like you're not just playing anymore, like you actually expect to learn something from me."

Ichigo swallowed hard. It wasn't that he felt the need to keep his intentions a secret but he'd hoped he wouldn't be questioned about it. "Is that bad?" He couldn't look back over his shoulder to meet gazes.

"Not exactly…but I'm not really the best person to be teaching you about sex. As I'm sure you're aware, I'd be very tempted to take advantage of your naiveté," he reminded while rubbing the young man's hips.

"Yes you are," he replied confidently.

"What makes you say that?" he was genuinely curious.

"Can you think of someone better?" Ichigo challenged.

"Kurosaki-kun, this is the sort of thing that you're supposed to find out about on your own, through personal experience. You shouldn't let me take that away from you."

Ichigo sighed, as good as Urahara's hands felt on his hips, he felt the desire to look at the man's face. So, he turned around so that he was laying on the floor, propped up on his elbows with Urahara kneeling before him. "That's already been taken…" he began, slightly less sure of himself now that the words were actually uttered. "And I've realized that because of what I am, I don't get the luxury of being a clumsy teenager. I need to know what I'm doing so that I don't do something I'll regret. You're the only person I trust that would be willing to help me."

"You've apparently spent a lot of time thinking about this and I'm quite flattered that you picked me. Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

Ichigo cocked an incredulous brow. "I couldn't do that," he informed.

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you went about it like this. It's much kinkier than I expected from you."

"I did it this way because I knew you'd go for it."

Urahara frowned. "You don't have to do this sort of thing for me." He had more but was cut off.

"And because it makes me more comfortable. There's less pressure on me if you tell me what I need to do."

"Does that mean you'll do what I say?" the shopkeeper's grin returned as he reached down to flick one of the clamps still attached to the young man's chest.

Ichigo gasped and arched his back. "Yeah, I guess it does…" He outright whined when it was done again.

Seeing that they were actually causing more pain than pleasure at this point, the former captain removed the clamps. Before Ichigo could say anything about it, he felt the older man's warm mouth on his chest, giving each abused nub of flesh a gentle apology. The sensation made his breath come in deep gasps as he tried to control his body's reaction to the small attentions.

"Kurosaki-kun," he pulled away for a moment to look up into the young man's eyes, "you need to calm down or you'll hyperventilate," he warned in a teasingly affectionate tone.

He nodded rather nervously.

"So, I think we understand this concept. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Urahara backed off. Now that he knew Ichigo would in fact follow his lead, he had no problem stringing him along…potentially with real string, but it was a little early for that.

After a moment of thought, Ichigo went back to the bag. If the older man wanted him to come up with ideas, he couldn't think of a better place to find inspiration. There were only a few things left, though he did find himself silently agreeing with Shinji, if this was nothing extravagant, he was more than a little intimidated by the idea of giving the other full reign over the situation.

As Ichigo rifled through the bag, Urahara took the opportunity to remove his hat and shoes and reclined on his bed, his cane propped up against the side. While the orange-haired teen was deciding on what he wanted to try out next, he spoke again, "What do you hope to get out of this?" he asked seriously. "From what little I could get out of Shinji, it sounds like you pretty well know what you're doing."

Ichigo frowned, "He told you that?" he asked, slightly more amused than he thought he would be. "What else did he tell you?"

"Answer my question first."

"I know what to do…but I don't know what I like. Does that makes sense?" he was all flustered again but somehow it was okay.

"I think I understand. Actually, he didn't tell me very much," he tried to pout.

Ichigo smiled at that. "Good." He stood, having found something else he could not identify, and made his way back toward the older man. "What's this?" He held out a strange egg-shaped plastic device.

"That is half of one of my favorite toys," he informed, snatching away.

It appeared to simply be an oddly shaped piece of plastic but there was obviously more to it than that. "Show me, Urahara-sensei," he requested in a husky voice.

"Alright, here," he handed it back, "take a good look at it, remember that color." It was a solid dark purple.

"Okay…now what?"

"Now, pull your pants down."

Ichigo visibly squirmed at the order.

"You can pull them back up in just a moment. I promise not to linger too long," he pulled a bottle of lubricant out of his bedside drawer. He took the object back while the teen complied with the order and once that was done, he laid him down on his back and pushed his knees up to his chest, pants around his knees.

Ichigo grunted a little at the way he was being pushed around without any sort of warning. That frustration quickly faded when he felt something slick pressing against his opening. It made his breath catch. "A-are you going to put that thing inside me?" The reply was having the blonde above him slowly slide the egg inside and he found it strangely easy to relax enough to let it easily happen, instead of fighting it which would only make matters worse. The way that Urahara was gleaming down at him didn't hurt either. He hardly even flinched when he felt a finger follow it inside to push it deeper.

Once the object was in place, the former captain withdrew. "Okay. You can pull your pants back up now."

Ichigo did just that but not with out grumbling indignantly.

"Now, now, don't be like that," Urahara chided while making a sideways glance at his cane, still well within his reach.

"I just don't see why you like that so much, that wasn't exactly pleasant," he griped.

"If you keep complaining, I'll spank you again. Besides, you're forgetting that's only half of it. Now, go back to that bag. There should be something else inside that is the same color. Go find it."

Intrigued, and a little intimidated by the threat, the orange-haired teen did as he was told. A few moments later, he returned with a small panel containing a single switch and a single dial.

"Good, now flip the switch."

As soon as he did, he dropped the controller and gave a heated gasp. His reaction was rewarded with a captivated stare. "Oh, god…"

"Now you see why I like it so much?"

"You use this yourself?" Ichigo asked, hoping his curiosity could distract him a little.

"Not usually. I prefer this end," he grabbed the controller and began fiddling with the dial. A few moments later, the young man was on his side trying not to writhe in pleasure…too much. This resulted in a lot of gasping and clawing at the bed sheets. "It's fun to take out in public, he commented and watched Ichigo's brown eyes widen.

"I'd never do that," he nearly growled.

Urahara laughed, "That's probably good because you can't even sit still when it's on the low settings," he turned it up a little further to prove his point.

It took all of Ichigo's self control to keep from doing more than just wiggling a little more while a whimpered moan escaped his guard.

"You may touch yourself, if you feel so inclined. I certainly wouldn't take offense," the older man suggested.

"I bet you wouldn't," Ichigo grumbled.

"What was that?" He reached for his cane, "I don't think I care much for that tone."

"Can I touch you instead?" the teen quickly recovered.

"One thing that Shinji did mention," he began but waited for a response before continuing.

"What's that?" Ichigo tried to sit up again and was largely successful.

"He found it odd that you would ask permission before touching him. I didn't think anything of it," he lied about that part. Actually, it was something he spent a fair amount of time considering, "until you did it again just now. Most people make it fairly obvious when they want to be touched. Like right now, you would not object to me touching you, would you?"

"No, I guess not…" he looked away nervously.

"What makes you think I wouldn't want you to touch me?"

"I-I dunno. Stop asking me weird questions," he complained.

"Perhaps you like to ask for permission. It's understandable, you know, a reckless, free-spirited soul like yours craving boundaries."

"That's not it," Ichigo was quick to retort but lost his words after that.

"What is it then? Please, tell me." Urahara was dying to find out.

"Maybe…I just wanna hear you say you want me," he managed.

"Kurosaki-kun, come here," he motioned.

Ichigo readily complied, a small smile on his otherwise embarrassed and highly aroused features. Instead of crawling into the blonde's lap, as seemed to be expected of him, he moved around to come up between his legs. He stopped with their bodies only inches from one another. His breathing was a little erratic but other than that he felt an eerie sort of calm overcome him.

When the young soul reaper stopped only moments before contact, Urahara gave strange sort of groan. "Kurosaki-kun, you tease too much."

Only then did he see fit to bring his lips to those of the man reclined beneath him. Urahara couldn't help thinking that it was perfectly Ichigo; aggressive, strong, intense, and just a little bit rough; and met it with matched fervor before grabbing one of Ichigo's hand and placing it on his body.

There were no words for a long time after that motion. Ichigo seemed intent to explore the shopkeeper's body and there was obviously no objection. He carefully pulled the older man's robes open and started teasing his nipples, first one, then the other. He went back and forth until the former captain was moaning into their kiss. Then, he withdrew to admire the flush that now decorated the older man's skin. The lust that glazed those dark eyes below him gave him a renewed sense of confidence. This was exactly the sort of distraction that he needed to keep from behaving so pitifully due to the object vibrating inside him.

Quickly, he reached into the man's pocket and retrieved the clamps. Before he could be asked what he was doing, he attached one to Urahara's nipple, eliciting a sharp gasp in response. When he twisted it and gave the slightest pull, he marveled at the way the former captain's back arched toward him. He'd planed to wait to attach the second but after that reaction, he couldn't stop himself.

"Aahhh, Ichigo…" he barely whispered.

The sound of his own name compelled him further so he brought his mouth even with the clamps and began teasing the parts he could get to with the tip of his tongue.

"Oh shit, Ichigo," the blonde hissed.

Ichigo laughed a little. "Urahara-sensei, for someone with your obvious experience, you don't seem to have much self control. I mean, you're at least as hard as I am." He pressed their hips, and subsequently their erections, together.

"Mmmm…" Urahara pushed back, uncaring toward the taunt.

"Is there something I can do for you, Urahara-sensei?" he cooed.

"Have you ever giving a blow job before?" he asked between heated gasps.

Ichigo actually stopped for a second to think, "No…"

"It's not that difficult. I think you should give it a try." He ended with a small sound of pleasure when one of his nipples was flicked and didn't feel the need to continue because the young man between his legs was starting to remove his pants. Once they were out of the way, he licked his lips and eyed the older man's length. It took him a moment to decide what to do and it was only after considering his previous experiences that he could.

If the look on Ichigo's face hadn't been so priceless, he might have said something sooner. However, he'd never had that part of him so closely scrutinized before and it made him strangely pleased that he could hold the young man's undivided attention so easily. Right before he could ask if he should start making suggestions, Ichigo took action in the form of trying to take as much as he could at once.

After he gagged, he was gently pulled off. He frowned upward but took some comfort in the fact that the blonde was smiling down at him, even if it was an almost mocking grin.

"It's good that you're so eager…but it's much better if you take it slowly."

"That's not what you did," Ichigo pointed out.

"Well, that was a special circumstance. It would have been cruel to do anything less," he pointed out.

Ichigo gave a scowl of incomprehension until something occurred to him. "Show me."

Urahara laughed a little. "I'm afraid not. I don't want you trying to copy what I do. It doesn't usually work if you do that sort of thing. So, as much as I'd like to suck you off, you're gunna have to earn it. Now, get back down there," he ordered in an even tone, turning the dial up a little more once again.

Ichigo gave an impudent glare even though his knees started to shake.

"I might remind you that Benihime loves to put naughty boys in their place."

The teen gave a sigh of resignation. "So, go slow now?" He brought his lips down to the older man's throbbing head.

Urahara nodded reassuringly.

In spite of the good advice, Ichigo couldn't stop himself from trying to draw on personal experience and the only one that sounded like what the blonde was suggesting was what Ulquiorra had done to him in the foggy moments before he was marked on his inner thigh. So, he started by lightly brushing it with his lips and tongue. The groan given in response was encouraging so he drew it a little ways into his mouth. He thought he felt the hips beneath him roll just a little when the tip of his tongue found the slit. It wasn't long before he was slowly sucking it into his mouth a little more with each draw, swirling his tongue around the tip when he withdrew before starting back again.

He knew he was doing well when he felt the vibrations inside him increase in intensity and the length in his mouth start to twitch in response to his experimental motions. When it was near the maximum setting, he began to moan from it once again and it wasn't long after that that Urahara lost himself in the young man's mouth with out any other warning than a choked out cry. He caught most of it before pulling away to wipe his lips. The rest dribbled onto Urahara's stomach.

"How was that, Urahara-sensei?" Ichigo asked as he removed the clamps from the older man's nipples and felt the object stop moving.

"It was just as I expected," he tried to keep his tone serious.

Ichigo frowned at that answer until the rest was uttered.

"You're a natural," he gave a very pleased and very impish grin.

Ichigo returned the smile with one of his own.

Urahara continued to tease, "Are you sure you've never done that before?"

Ichigo laughed a little, "Yeah, I think that's something I'd remember."

"Well, I am delighted to be your first," he informed while putting his pants back on. As much as he enjoyed basking in the afterglow, he had to be at least a little mindful of his surroundings.

"So…now what?" Ichigo asked blushingly.

"Hm? You want more? I thought we could call it a night there, perhaps continue with another lesson at a later date, if you felt so inclined."

Ichigo gave him a hurt and dejected sort of look.

"What's the matter?" Urahara asked knowingly.

"Isn't there like some sort of rule that says you're not supposed to do that?" he grumbled.

"Not supposed to do what?" the shopkeeper feigned innocence though he had a pretty good idea what the young man was getting at.

"I did everything you asked…shouldn't you at least try to get me off?"

The blonde blinked through the darkness, he hadn't expected the normally rather prudent teen to be so frank. He must have wanted it very badly. "I suppose I could." He was obviously insecure in his reluctance. "At this point, it shouldn't take very long anyway," he teased before sitting up straight. He took a moment to carefully eye the younger man, seemingly scrutinizing every detail. It was at that point that he vowed to himself that if they were to do something like this again, it would definitely have to be in a better lit location. With a shrug he began to unfasten the younger soul reaper's belt.

Ichigo fought his instinct to move, whether toward or away from the older man he wasn't exactly sure. Sure, he wanted to be touched, caressed, even fondled by those experienced hands he was much less sure about how intense his desire had become. It wasn't as intense as when he'd been cornered by Urahara and Shinji on that seemingly fateful day, but it was still much more than he was used to and it felt like his body was betraying him in favor of functioning in response to the one now slowly undoing his fly and sliding his pants, as well as his underwear, down to his knees.

Urahara barely suppressed a chuckle when the teen in his grasp gasped at the sudden exposure and then again when he began lapping up the precum as it leaked from his tip in thick rivulets. He seemed to handle that fairly well so, he decided to turn the vibrator back on. When a deep throated moan tore from the young man's lips, the older, regretfully, had to pull away.

Ichigo whined at the loss of contact until suddenly the former captain was behind him, pushing him face down into his pillows. "Whoah! Hey! What are you doing?" he frantically demanded and received an open handed spank on his bare ass in response. He yelped just the tiniest bit before biting his lip to prevent further abuse.

"Don't get me wrong, I love your voice…especially when you makes those kinds of sounds for me but if we get caught," which after that moan, he was sure they would, "it'll be your fault," he informed with a hushed voice, his lips brushing against the outer rim of Ichigo's ear.

"I'm sorry. Please continue. I'll keep quiet," Ichigo nearly begged.

Then Urahara made another vow to himself. If there was a next lesson, it would have to be somewhere that they wouldn't have to worry about controlling their vocal appreciations. The apology made his demeanor soften and he reached an arm around the young man's waist so he could start messaging his length with his hand.

Ichigo's breath caught at the renewed attention but he managed not to make too much noise and he was greatly rewarded for this effort. He found during this that as much as he wanted to moan and cry out for the one who was pleasuring him, he found the idea that he needed to be mindful or ill consequences might strike rather exciting as well. There was a certain arousing effect to that risk that he had not been privy to before that moment but was now enjoying almost as much as the rest of their play.

Urahara noticed this change in a different sort of way. It seemed that instead of letting him hear his appreciation, he got to see and feel it instead every time he thrust into his hand and pressed his back against the warm chest above him. "Hmmm…it seems you've found a number of things that you like this evening," he whispered distractingly into Ichigo's ear.

The orange-haired soul reaper simply nodded in response and bit his lip, knowing that if he tried to speak, it wouldn't come out right anyway.

"What did you like best?" he continued his inquiry

Ichigo shook his head 'no' in a silent plea for the questions to stop at least until he had his release.

"No? That's not an appropriate answer. Are you trying to say that you didn't actually enjoy yourself?" Urahara tried his damnedest to sound at least a little hurt by the idea, even if they both knew it wasn't true.

He shook his head 'no' again and whined a little into the soft pillows.

At the lack of answer, Urahara just about stopped his movements.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ichigo whined into the soft pillows. He tried to roll his hips to force more contact but found that the older man simply moved with him, depriving him of the precious friction he so desperately needed.

"I just asked you a simple question," the blonde pointed out as he turned the dial up again to make up for his lack of other actions.

"You tell me to be quiet and then you expect me to talk to you?" he replied through gritted teeth. "'Sides, I can't even think with that thing inside me...and when you're doing that…what makes you think I can explain stuff?"

"Oh, I see…well, you should have just said that…" he chided just before starting to jerk the younger man off once again, this time like he actually meant it.

Ichigo had to burry his face in Urahara's pillows to muffle the sounds of pleasure he couldn't suppress. From this, he could smell the former captain's scent imbedded in every fiber of the soft cushions and it was the sensation of having the mysterious blonde's essence teem to fill his lungs with every ragged breath, that made him cum.

While Ichigo's body twitched with the aftershocks of orgasm, Urahara gently pulled the vibrating egg from his body, not bothering to turn it off until after it was removed. The teen gave an extra shiver accompanied by a strangled moan when he felt the humming object pass through his tight opening. The he felt his pants being pulled back up and belt being fastened.

He allowed the older man to turn him around and finish redressing him before he said anything. "Thanks," he said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Thank you," he gave a lewd grin. "Perhaps you will return for another lesson some time in the future."

Ichigo tried to glare but he was too pleased with their encounter to give it any of his real fire. However, when the former captain chuckled, he actually managed it. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about what you said before you dragged me in here and had your way with me…which is exactly what you did, by the way."  
"Don't say that! You were totally in charge!"

"Well, you said that I shouldn't 'get any weird ideas' but it appears that you were the one with strange notions running through your mind. You really thought about this, it wasn't just some spur of the moment, one thing led to another sort of situation. You seduced me, I want you to realize that."

Ichigo scowled through the darkness.

"You did quite well. I hardly realized what you were doing…and it seems it was so natural for you that you didn't realize it at all."

Ichigo continued his displeased expression. "You're always coming onto me…I didn't think you'd mind."

"I hardly mind…actually it was a rather nice surprise. I don't see why you are frowning. It was supposed to be a compliment."

Ichigo slowly changed from irritated to unsure. "Whatever." He looked over at the clock on the bedside stand. "It's getting pretty late. I should probably go."

Now it was Urahara's turn to look displeased. He often enjoyed post-coital bonding at least as much the actual sex acts and this was one of those times. He wished he could take until the sun came up to ask the young man questions and pry every little detail from his psyche. He would even let go of some of his better guarded secrets to get extra divulgences from the young soul reaper. However, he knew that was not a even a remote possibility. So, his simply nodded in agreement and started walking Ichigo out of the shop.

Just as Ichigo was about to step off the porch, Urahara spoke, "Kurosaki-kun, I think you should know that no matter what…I really appreciate the time we spend together. Thank you."

The oddly genuine tone in the older man's voice took Ichigo aback, "Whatever, you're just saying that so that there might be a second lesson," he blushed a little.

"I'm saying it because I mean it," he informed seriously.

Ichigo leaned forward and gave Urahara a quick kiss on the cheek before hopping off the porch and out of reach. "Good night, Urahara-sensei."


	4. Raincheck

This Monday morning started out looking like any other school day for Kurosaki Ichigo…but looks can be deceiving and even from the moment he woke up, he could tell it was going to be different. When his alarm went off for him to get ready for school, he turned it off and swung his feet off the edge of the bed . As he rubbed the sleepies from his eyes, he couldn't help looking around his room, even in his closet and out his window, because he felt like he was being watched. It was strange, even when someone was watching him, he usually didn't notice. So, he tried to shrug it off and get on with his day. This worked up until he was a couple blocks away from his house. That was when he was joined by another on his usually solitary, unless Rukia was staying with him, walk to school.

Shinji just seemed to fall out of the sky and land next to him, "Good morning, Ichigo!" he greeted with an unnerving smile.

"Hey, Shinji. What's up?" he asked with the slightest suspicion. Of course, his suspicion was warranted because nothing good ever happened when one of his more spiritual comrades was dressed for school.

"Oh, not much," he dawdled as they walked. "I just thought I'd visit you at school today. I hope you don't mind…"

"Whatever," he shrugged, knowing that he held very little sway when it came to what the vizard did. "Though, I don't see why. It's not like anyone goes to school because they want to."

"Call it boredom," he lied but didn't bother to disguise his slight grin. Actually, the main reason he didn't mind attending a human high school was the fact that it gave him an excuse to dress up in one of their western-style uniforms, tie and all, and no one could say anything to him about it because they had to dress that way.

Ichigo shrugged again. It was too early for him to care much about his friend's nonsense. "Just don't hit on Orihime, okay?"

Shinji eyed him carefully, "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" he teased.

Ichigo shot him an incredulous look, "Hardly. But it's indecent for you to treat her that way, she's a nice girl."

Shinji pretended to pout, "She's the first woman I ever really loved…" and was promptly smacked on the back of the head by Ichigo's book bag. "Hey, I didn't deserve that! …I guess I'll just have to focus my attention on you then," he added with a sigh.

That caused Ichigo to freeze in his tracks, "What did you say?"

"Well, I was just thinking, that if I can't flirt with Orihime, then I'll just have to resort to flirting with you instead," he turned to face his friend and slowly pushed him back against the wall separating the sidewalk they were on from a private residence, "now wouldn't that be indecent?"

Ichigo scowled and pushed him away. "Yeah, it would and if that's the only reason you're going to school, then you shouldn't bother."

This time Shinji actually pouted. "Will you play hooky with me then?"

Ichigo laughed. "I can't. I have a big test today. Besides, I miss enough of my classes as it is." He was surprised that the blonde vizard continued with him. "You're actually going to follow me?"

"I don't have anything better to do."

"That's fine but you have to behave."

"You have so little faith in me."

"Whatever."

* * *

To Ichigo's surprise, Shinji did a reasonable job of keeping himself in line which made his test right before their lunch break much easier to concentrate on. However, the vizard couldn't resist propositioning him again during the break.

"That was your big test, right?" he asked, his tone slightly less patient than when he'd approached earlier that day.

"Yeah. I think I did pretty well, too," Ichigo grinned, rather pleased with himself.

"Does that mean we can cut out then?" Shinji pressed with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

Ichigo frowned at him again, "You can leave whenever you want. I have to stay."

It was Shinji's turn to scowl. "Come on, please?"

"I'm sorry, but the answer is no. If you really want to do something, we can after I'm done here. It's only another couple of hours." The orange-haired teen was trying to be nice but his friend's insistence was starting to grate on him.

"You never do anything fun! If it weren't for your soul reaper powers, you'd be the most boring fucker I know," he griped.

Ichigo didn't care for that remark but he tried to keep his temper in check, "If I didn't have those powers, you wouldn't know me at all," he pointed out.

Shinji couldn't form a verbal response. So, he was left with action. His eyes scanned the classroom. There were far too many others present for him to make any sort of move. Silently, he swore to himself and stormed off, obviously furious.

Ichigo stared uncomprehendingly at the place where his friend had been standing. It was strange, he'd never seen Shinji ever really get upset about anything. Even when he was deeply concerned, he did his very best to hide it, using a mix of inappropriateness and passive aggressiveness to shield himself. But just then he witnessed the blonde vizard nearly fly off the handle over something as simple as skipping school. It made him second guess his unwillingness to indulge his friend. However, their teacher was back already and asking them to take their seats. He only hoped that Shinji was just going to cool off. He continued hoping when he realized that he wanted to see him again before the day was out, at least to make sure that everything was okay.

* * *

After being shot down a second time, Shinji quickly made his way to the nearest men's room and locked himself in the stall furthest from the door where he sat until he couldn't hear anybody, other than the muffled voice of the teacher in the next room over when she began lecturing. He gave a heavy sigh and began unbuckling his belt. For the most part, he'd come to terms with the radical alteration of his existence. This, however, was hardly something one could get used to, even if given centuries, and it was times like these that he hated what he was.

He gave another sigh, an attempt to push those kinds of thoughts to the back of his mind, and started on his fly. He nearly groaned aloud when he freed his erection, already painfully hard. How Ichigo hadn't noticed it was beyond him because he was fairly sure everyone else had. He bit his lip to stifle his sounds of pleasure as his hand ran up and down his length. Masturbation was not supposed to feel this good and that's when he really realized that he was bordering on waiting too long to take care of this. It was late Sunday night when he first felt it coming on and he knew exactly who and what he wanted: Kurosaki Ichigo and for as long as possible. There was one rather large problem. It was just the beginning of the week and the young man would no doubt be rather busy with his schoolwork and his friends. That was fine, he deserved at least that much for all that he'd been through. The question quickly became, Could he really wait a whole week before trying to approach his friend?

As much as he hated to admit it, the answer to that question was a resounding 'no fucking way'. It was around two in the morning he decided to go for it and try to get the young man to skip school in favor of spending the day, and hopefully the night, with him. Who wouldn't want to skip school on a Monday? But, due to Ichigo's unerring sense of duty, he was denied. Well, not that he couldn't guilt the substitute soul reaper into ditching his classes at the mere mention of his condition, but that's not what he wanted. If he thought his studies were more important, then he was going to reluctantly accept that.

However, this resignation left him with the degrading task of pleasuring himself in a boys' bathroom at a public school. He laughed at himself just a little. 'This is what I get for trying to force my fantasy on him,' he thought, 'I wonder what he would do if he found me like this?' He couldn't help thinking that would be strikingly similar to how he'd found Ichigo all those months ago…but would the young man be as willing to approach him when he was like this? Would he feel the same strangely titillating attraction?

Shinji let his eyes slide mostly shut as he tried to imagine what could happen if such an event were to occur. The teenager wouldn't realize what the problem was until he opened the door to the stall to find the fair blonde touching himself in a most inappropriate way. That much was almost certain. Then would be the critical moment. What would he do about it? With any sort of luck, he would drop to his knees, pull away the blonde's all too fervent hand, and finish the process himself. He almost couldn't believe how badly he wanted that eager young mouth sucking hard on his throbbing length. He wanted the relentless attention of someone who he knew could keep up with him, who wouldn't try to slow him down. Above all, he wanted to press his body against that wonderfully toned body and not let go until he lost consciousness.

He gave a grumble of frustration when his member didn't soften after the second time he came in his hand. However, after his third, it partially relented and just in time for the bell to sound, signaling the end of the current class and the beginning of the short break before the next. After taking a moment to collect himself, he once again sought out the orange-haired young man who haunted his fantasies.

* * *

Gym class? Fantastic. Shinji groaned inwardly. And swimming no less? There was no way he was going to subject himself to that level of embarrassment. Instead, he waited for Ichigo outside, seating himself on the bleachers nearest the edge of the large indoor swimming pool.

Ichigo figured that because he hadn't seen Shinji since he left in a huff after lunch, that the vizard had left the school grounds in favor of a more enjoyable way of spending his afternoon. Needless to say, he was then quite surprised when he saw him still in his uniform instead of having changed like the rest of the class, he rolled his eyes as he swam over to the side where his friend was seated, "You're not gunna go swimming? This is like the best part of the day," Ichigo gave a smile, hoping to cheer up his obviously irritated comrade.

Shinji would have agreed to one point, this was probably the highlight of his day, but not because he got to go swimming after being cooped up in a classroom all day. Rather, because he got to see the orange-haired young man in a bathing suit. He couldn't stop his eyes from raking up and down every detail of his lean and toned form and, since it was his human body, it was much less scarred than the young man's soul body. He also looked a little less muscular, giving him a much more nubile appearance. "Come on, please come with me? It's not like you need this extra exercise," he nearly pleaded as he approached the edge of the water, more to get a better look than so he could be better heard in the echo of the large gymnasium.

"What's with you?" Ichigo sounded irritated by the near-constant request but playfully splashed his friend just the same. "I don't know anybody who doesn't like to go swimming."

Shinji wanted to kick the young soul reaper in the head and drag hi, off by his hair but instead he crouched down at the edge of the water. With a heavy sigh, he finally decided to be a little more forward. "Don't get me wrong, I love swimming and I'd love to go swimming with you…but if we were to swim, I'd prefer a location with fewer people…and even fewer clothes," he somehow managed to sound playful and bitter at the same time.

Ichigo almost couldn't believe his ears. Was the vizard coming onto him here of all places? It was then that he finally took a good look at his friend. He looked a bit flushed and, due to his vantage point, he finally noticed something else. There was a noticeable bulge in the older man's slacks. Had he not been crouched right in front of his face, he might not have noticed but now it was painfully obvious. Upon this revelation, Ichigo grew incredibly awkward. As much as he'd actually been looking forward to repaying his friend, this was a little sudden…and not exactly the best time or place.

"Can you wait just a little bit longer? This is my last class today," he tried not squirm as he looked around. No one really seemed to be paying attention to them but their warm up time was almost over and they getting to start.

Shinji was obviously displeased. Wait? This kid wanted him to wait when he was lucky that he hadn't been pulled from the water and screwed on the spot? "I didn't ask you to wait…" he grumbled indignantly.

"No, you just tried to jump me and thought I'd be okay with it," Ichigo reminded. He wasn't really bitter about that but it sort of came out that way.

With that on snide comment, Shinji, without even really thinking about it, started a fist swinging in Ichigo's direction. If he wasn't going to get what he wanted, no needed, from the young man, he wasn't going to take this crap. Unfortunately, his fist was easily caught and where his higher ground would have normally been an advantage, it worked to his distinct disadvantage as he was thrown off balance and into the water with a loud splash.

The splash hadn't even cleared before they were fighting in the water, thrashing about, yelling at one another, and generally causing a scene. Before they knew what was happening, they were being pulled apart. It took several students, including Uryu and Chad, to keep them apart long enough for their teacher to come over.

Before they knew what was happening, they were being dragged from the water, told to change into dry clothes, once a new uniform was provided for Shinji, and escorted to the nearest detention hall. Ichigo was glad that they were accompanied for the entirety of this because that meant he didn't have to break the now awkward silence that festered between them. He was actually quite surprised that Shinji didn't simply flash step his ass out of there but that was only because the vizard hadn't quite given up on him yet. As embarrassing as this was for the blonde, he'd dealt with much worse. Ichigo, on the other hand, was beginning to boarder on mortification. The last thing he needed was detention but he wasn't in a position where arguing would have done any good so he simply complied as quickly as he could.

When they reached the classroom reserved for detention, the teacher made sure they were seated across the room from one another and, upon seeing that they weren't even inclined to talk to each other, she stood and headed for the door.

"I have better things to do than baby sit you two so this is what we're going to do. I'm going back to the teacher's lounge," which happened to be the next room over, "and if I hear so much as a peep out of either one of you, you're not only staying here today after school but for the rest of the week. Got it?" She left no room for discussion. Apparently, she was under the impression that if they were brought in for fighting, then the worst punishment she could offer would be to leave them alone in a quiet room together with no supervision and the lofty expectation that they could exercise enough self control to not try fighting again. Then, she left, fully expecting to return in a matter of minutes to break up another fight.

This wasn't exactly the sort of alone time that Shinji had in mind so he put his head down on his desk and gave an exasperated sigh.

"You don't have to be here, ya know," Ichigo grumbled.

Shinji lifted his head to glare weakly across the room.

"You should have said something sooner," the teen continued to chide.

That was the last straw. Shinji, this time not bothering to check for any unwanted observers, stood from his seat, made his way across the room and grabbed Ichigo by his tie, using it to pull him to his feet and into a needy kiss. The young man's lips felt too good against his own and even though he wasn't kissing back, he tried to pull him closer.

As much as Ichigo enjoyed the unexpected and intimate contact, he was much more aware of his surroundings and harshly pushed his friend away. "We can do this, not here. It's not right."

"God damnit, Ichigo! Here I am practically throwing myself at you and all you can do is remind me of how licentious I am? I thought you were my nakama…but I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry," he shoved the teen back into his seat and tried to storm off but his wrist was caught by the object of his affection and, as much as he would have liked to prove his point by jerking away, he felt his body give in and return to the one he craved.

"Licentious? What the hell does that even mean?"

Shinji rolled his eyes, "For our purposes, it means that I'm tired of waiting. If you really want to pay me back, you have to do it now…or else forget I was even here."

"Look, you can't just come to my school and solicit me for sex, okay?" Ichigo tried to defend.

"I guess that means I'll be leaving then," this time he actually managed to pull away, even if it was with marked reluctance.

"Please, don't be like that." To his credit, Ichigo was trying to be sympathetic.

"I keep forgetting, you'll never really understand this. I'm sorry for having troubled you. I'll go find someone who won't jerk me around." This time he actually made an earnest effort to leave.

"Whoah!" Ichigo stepped in front of him, "Settle down!"

Shinji visibly tensed. The orange-haired teen was again only inches from him. The urge to grab him and try to pull him close again was so close to overwhelming that he was starting to shake. He felt his skin beginning to flush due to their proximity. He'd managed to keep his arousal contained but being that close to the handsome young man was starting to have an effect on him. His calm and detached façade was starting to crack.

For the first time since he realized why his friend had been hanging around, he really took him in. His skin was pink, his eyes glassy, and his breath was ragged. It was then that Ichigo felt himself begin to cave. He placed a thoughtful hand on the vizard's shoulder and the look that he received stole any sort of reassuring words he might have had. It was a strange sort of look; it made his stomach flip-flop. There was hunger and need and heat radiating from the blonde's entire being. He could start to finally feel the sexual energy radiating from his friend, it was difficult not to touch him when he was like that. However, as much as he was willing to indulge the vizard, he was unwilling to do as much in a public place.

Shinji gave the slightest of frowns before continuing to play with Ichigo's tie, carefully moving up and down the length, allowing the backs of his fingers to brush the starched fabric of the uniform shirt. The only thing that kept his hands from shaking was minute advances like that.

Ichigo was still experiencing a fair amount of apprehension and was struggling to find his words.

When he couldn't, Shinji wrapped his fingers around the knot of Ichigo's tie and used that grip to pull him close, "You don't have to say anything, Ichi-kun. Just kiss me, please."

The lusty air that glazed over the vizard's normally sharp features made him nervous but he leaned forward anyway, pressing his lips against Shinji's in a tentative kiss.

Shinji gave a warm smile and pulled away, "After all the dirty I've done to you, you still kiss me like it's the first time…it's very sweet," he complimented while moving even closer while loosening his tie for him.

Ichigo's breath hitched and he reluctantly pulled Shinji's hands off him. When the vizard whined, it was his turn to take a moment to check for any onlookers. Seeing no one, he looked back into Shinji's eyes, "Just this once, okay? If this happens again, you have to say something sooner," he half-griped as he led Shinji to the back of the classroom.

The former captain eagerly followed and was sat down in one of the many empty seats. He almost couldn't believe his eyes when Ichigo kneeled down before him and started working hurriedly on his pants. The entire time he couldn't stop himself from thinking they would be caught at any moment so he didn't want to waste any time.

Shinji moaned when his erection was freed and though he felt his cock give a sympathetic reaction, he had to stop himself for a moment, "You have to be quiet or we'll be caught for sure," he scolded with a hint of playfulness.

He nodded weakly and bit his lip in a promise for silence that was almost broken when Ichigo wrapped his lips around his head and began to gently suckle the precum from the older vizard's hard member. As he began to slowly slide further down the firm length, he gave an amused chuckle because Shinji brought his hand up to cover his mouth, which had begun to gape open with silent sounds of pleasure.

A couple of long sucks later, he felt his mouth being flooding with warm, thick fluid. He gulped it down as best he could before pulling off and taking a quick glance at the clock and then back to his friend. "Can that hold you over until the bell rings? It'll only be another few minutes then we can go wherever you want and do whatever you want," he promised.

It took all that Shinji had not to attempt to strip them both and go to it right there. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge that he would not be allowed to get away with it. He gave a weak nod instead and began to redo his pants. "If I have to…" When the teen still kneeling before him gave a relieved sigh, he actually smiled down at him.

"I'm sorry…" Ichigo finally apologized, even though he knew that he didn't really need to.

"I think you just made up for it," he grabbed Ichigo by the tie again and pulled him up for another kiss which, to his surprise, was readily accepted.

It was at that moment that the teacher, who had grown concerned from the lack of commotion, decided to poke her head in to check on them. Her eyes grew wide and she gave a loud gasp at what she saw. The two young men, who were supposed to be at each other's throats, as far as she'd been informed, were making out in the back of her classroom.

They heard her gasp and flew apart, faces red with embarrassment as Ichigo stammered to find some sort of excuse for their behavior.

Much to their surprise, she gave a slight giggle. "It seems there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I think you two should go."

They quickly gathered their things and hurried out, only able to manage a few embarrassed apologies along the way. Ichigo couldn't help noticing the slight trickle of blood that ran from the teacher's nose as they practically ran away from that classroom, that school, all those people.


	5. Raincheck pt 2

Well, I was going to try to get this part done in one more chapter but it appears to be running a bit longer than I anticipated and I'm going on vacation for a week. I hope to post the rest after it's all worked out when I get back.

* * *

Once the pair was a good couple of blocks from the school they slowed their pace and took a moment to laugh about their situation.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Ichigo couldn't believe the way she had stared at them.

"I hope she doesn't pass out from blood loss," Shinji joked.

"So, where are we going?" Ichigo finally asked, a mischievous grin making its way across his lips.

"Well," Shinji paused for a moment to think. He'd been so caught up in trying to persuade the young man to come with him that he forgot to plan for much after that. "Anywhere is fine…you pick somewhere that you can let go of your inhibitions and I'll follow you." He was tired of thinking. As far as he was concerned, they could have done it in the middle of the street.

Ichigo nodded and led them to the one location that best fit the blonde's description.

"Here?" Shinji asked incredulously when they arrived in front of Urahara's shop. "Really?"

The teen shrugged. "I can't think of a better place. No one really bothered us the last time and I can't really imagine doing those kinds of things anywhere else."  
Shinji didn't really care to hear the young man's explanation, at least not right now. So, instead of just standing there and listening, he grabbed Ichigo's tie and pulled him inside. He received surprisingly little protest as they kicked off their shoes and headed straight for the trapdoor that led to the underground training facility. His hand was mere centimeters from the handle when the shopkeeper appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Can I help you boys?" the shaggy blonde asked knowingly.

"We're gunna borrow your basement," Shinji quickly replied, his one hand now grasping the handle and ready to open it while the other kept a firm grip on the young soul reaper's tie, forcing him to either kneel down next to him or crouch awkwardly over him.

"If that's alright," Ichigo hastily added. He had a pretty good feeling that this would be alright but he didn't want to impose if it was going to be some sort of problem. As much as he hated to delay the older vizard, he also wanted to help him prevent doing anything that he might regret later.

Urahara gave a disinterested shrug. "It doesn't appear that I have much of a choice in the matter," he said while flicking out his fan and leaning against the door frame.

Shinji, annoyed by his old comrade's casual behavior, threw the trap door open. He was about three milliseconds away from diving downward when Ichigo finally pulled back hard enough to make him lose his grip on the tie. At the loss of contact, and whatever degree of control that provided, the older vizard had to take a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to center himself just one last time before he could get what he needed. "Well?" he asked his old friend impatiently.

The shaggy blonde used one sandaled foot to close the trap door. "Well, what?" he replied expectantly.

"Don't fuck with me. This kid put me through a lot today. I don't need to deal with your shit right now too," Shinji sneered before turning back to Ichigo.

The shopkeeper shrugged again but made sure to keep his grin hidden behind his lightly fluttering paper fan. It was already obvious that he was enjoying tormenting his friend greatly but he just couldn't help himself. "I just started a pot of tea but the two of you scared off the others. I would appreciate it if you would have a cup with me. You see, I dislike drinking by myself and I'd hate to think I set the table for nothing."

Shinji blinked in angered disbelief, "You've got to be kidding…"

"Just a cup of tea is all I ask."

"No, that's stupid! If you're not gunna move, we'll just go somewhere else. Come on," Shinji motioned for them to leave but when Ichigo hesitated, once again, he stopped dead in his tracks. "What is it now?"

"Where else will you go, Shinji-kun?" Urahara asked mockingly. "If you return to your warehouse, you will no doubt encounter even more interference from the other vizards than from me. You certainly can't do it at Kurosaki-kun's home, that would be far to disruptive. Well?"

Shinji looked to Ichigo, hoping that the young man could think of another option for them but he obviously had none. His thoughts were interrupted when the tea kettle began to whistle. "One cup, that's it!" Shinji grumbled.

"Happy to hear it. Have a seat in the other room and I'll be right with you." The man in the bucket hat sauntered off toward the whistling.

Ichigo wanted to scream at the older-looking blonde for being so cruel. He didn't understand why Urahara would be so eager to help him only to turn around and do this to Shinji. He glared indignantly toward the retreating form until his attention was draw back to his friend in need by a sigh of desperation. He sat on the ground with his head drooped looking utterly defeated.

After taking a moment to steady himself, he took action. This time he didn't even look around to see if anyone else was watching them. He just grabbed Shinji around the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. It only lasted a moment but it was the best promise and apology that he could have possibly offered and it was very well received. It only took a few seconds after that for them to be on their way to the sitting room, lips and bodies hardly parting the entire way.

The blonde vizard only took a split second to get over his shock and begin kissing back. Everything after that moment was a blur for him, a hazy mosaic of feelings and sounds. The only things he could specifically remember were the white hot friction between their bodies and the jolts and rushes of pleasure that coursed through him with every touch and movement.

Once in the room, Ichigo sat down next to one of the settings and pulled Shinji into his lap.

"Mmmm….thank you, Ichi-kun," Shinji mumbled into the side of Ichigo's neck as they pressed and ground their bodies together.

Moments later, the orange-haired teen felt Shinji's cock pulse within the confines of his slacks and when he looked down, he saw a stain quickly forming on the fabric. "Oh, Ichi-kun," he moaned into the other's mouth as he soaked his pants. The blonde only pulled their lips apart far enough to see what he was doing as his unsteady hands started working on the young man's collared shirt.

It was after the third button that they felt Urahara's cane between them, prying them apart. Shinji simply made a sound of frustration and kept up his task until he felt the hard wood of the cane/sheath crack down on his knuckles. "You'll tear his buttons off if you keep that up," Urahara playfully scolded, "Besides, the tea is ready."

Reluctantly, Shinji withdrew from Ichigo's lap but only as far as he had to in order to sit next to him on the floor, even pulling his place setting closer to the teen's so they could still maintain some level of physical contact.

Urahara simply smiled and began pouring. "I would ask why you came to visit me today, but you've made that pretty obvious. Actually, I'd say this was a little overdue," his tone was a little darker as he made that last observation.

"He made me wait," Shinji defended between hurried sips.

"Kurosaki-kun, why would you do a thing like that? Look at Shinji-kun, he doesn't deserve that kind of torment…at least, not from you."

"He didn't say anything until like an hour ago," Ichigo defended, trying to drink his piping hot beverage as quickly as possible as well.

"Well then, it sounds like you did this to yourself," the shaggy blonde continued to tease his more clean-cut friend. The longer he could keep them talking and trying to gulp down scalding hot liquids, the longer he could take to practically drool over the pair of hot and ready school boys seated mere feet from him. He had more to say but was interrupted by another, previously unannounced voice.

"Give'em a break, Kisuke," a black cat emerged from beneath the table, stretching lazily as it meandered toward the shopkeeper dressed in green.

"Yo-Yoruichi?" Ichigo blinked his surprise.

"You boys go ahead downstairs…I'll have tea with this old pervert," she crawled into his lap before returning to her human form.

Ichigo turned to Shinji and watched as his friend's eyes raked down Yoruichi's supple back to settle on her round backside as it moved his circles in the shaggy blonde's lap. When the older vizard began to unconsciously lean toward the pair, Ichigo grabbed him. At first, he was just reaching for his shirt but when his fingers caught the tie, he remembered the feeling of being jerked around by his neck and decided to repay the favor. He grabbed tight and dragged the blonde vizard from the room and down into the basement.

* * *

Ichigo was barely able to get a decent distance from the bottom of the ladder before Shinji was all over him again, pushing him to the ground, pulling his clothes off. He made a small sound of surprise as he hit the dirt.

"I'm sorry…" Shinji said between heated breaths but without stopping his motions, "…you shouldn't let me treat you this way." Once Ichigo's shirt was nearly off, he started on his own. "…but I just can't help myself."

Ichigo gave a warm smile upward and reached up to help the older man with his clothes. "Don't apologize…for anything, okay?" he quickly pulled the collared shirt from Shinji's shoulders and down his arms.

Shinji weakly nodded and did the same to Ichigo's shirt.

"So, what are we doin'?" Ichigo asked mischievously while working on the blonde's belt.

"I don't care, I'm tired of thinking!" he whined.

"Well, here then," he laid Shinji down on his back and, after taking a moment to remove his socks, pulled his pants off and tossed them aside. "I'll just do this until you tell me what you really want." He laid him down and began trying different things with his mouth to get the older man off. Before he was even sucking, he felt fingers tangled in his hair and heard his name being moaned between other sounds of heated pleasure.

An eager mouth was exactly what he needed, "Oh, god, Ichi-kun, this is even better than I thought," he blurted out after the first time he came.

"You thought about this?" Ichigo asked knowingly when he backed off for a moment to give his jaw a rest.

"After lunch, when you wouldn't leave with me. I went to the bathroom and I thought about this…so, please, don't stop," he nearly begged while trying to shove himself back into the teen's mouth.

Ichigo readily obliged, milking another two orgasms from his older friend before he realized that he was now painfully hard as well. He was just about to reach a hesitant hand down into his pants when Shinji spoke again.

"Ichigo…I want you to ride my cock…Would you do that for me?" he requested with a strange mix of eagerness and reluctance.

The sudden familiar use of his full first name brought his complete focus back to his friend. The guilt and need in his tone was overwhelming and all he could manage for a response was a nod of affirmation.

"Oh god, thank you," Shinji's head rolled back and forth at the thought. "In my pants pocket there's…" was as far as he got before Ichigo was searching and quickly finding a small bottle of KY.

As he returned he gave a teasing grin, "Certainly prepared, weren't you?"

"Never completely," Shinji bitterly mumbled. No matter how well one planned or how supportive a partner one might have, something always seemed to go awry, another facet that he could never really get used to.

"Can I go kinda slow at first? It's been a while…" he smiled sheepishly while removing his pants and socks as well.

"Ichi-kun, you can do whatever you want as long as you end up sitting on my dick."

Ichigo was a little taken aback by that but didn't allow his hesitation to last for more than a moment before crawling up the blonde vizard's body and straddling his waist. Carefully, he popped open the bottle and poured some of the liquid into his palm. That's when he really hesitated. He knew he wasn't exactly ready to take the vizard but he felt strange about preparing himself like that in front of him. There was also a part of him that said he shouldn't make the needy man wait any longer but that voice sounded disturbingly like his hollow's so he pushed it to the side.

Shinji recognized the teen's self conscious indecision and didn't wait to act. He took Ichigo's wrist and brought his wet palm down on the throbbing erection nestled in orange pubic hair. The teen moaned and bucked at the attention, even though it was mostly his own hand providing it, dropping the bottle in his other hand into Shinji's waiting palm. "Let's take care of you for just a bit first." With that, he poured some into his own hand and reached back behind the young vizard and began eagerly probing his entrance. "Tell me if it's too much," he warned, knowing that his enthusiasm and eagerness may not be entirely shared.

At first, the two strong fingers that thrust up inside him were a bit too much but he didn't complain, simply gritting his teeth and massaging himself even harder to distract himself from the discomfort. He quickly allowed himself to relax sufficiently to let Shinji's fingers in far enough inside that they could massage his prostate. He gave a slight whimper at this revelation and felt his cock twitch in his hand.

Shinji saw this and gave a sympathetic, if not highly aroused, smile. "Please don't cum like this. I wanna feel it when you do," he requested in a confessional tone.

Ichigo had to loosen his physical grip on himself in order to get a better mental hold. If Shinji wanted him to hold out, he would certainly give it his damnedest since he knew that whatever internal pressure he felt paled in insignificance when compared to what the older vizard was suffering. However, he knew he couldn't last too much longer so he pushed back against the hand searching and stretching him. His unspoken message was readily interpreted and he felt a third finger added shortly after. He gave the slightest whimper and made an expression of discomfort as he tried to push back even harder.

"Hey, don't rush yourself," Shinji laughed.

"But you-" Ichigo tried to protest but the man beneath him withdrew.

"It's not fun if I have to worry about hurting you. So, take it easy, okay?" He found those words odd coming from someone in his position but he knew it would be worth the wait. "Not that I don't appreciate your willingness…" he trailed off as he continued with three careful fingers.

Several minutes later, Ichigo removed his hand from his erection and used it to remove Shinji's from his backside. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he looked Shinji in the eyes, searching for that same vulnerability and violent need that he'd seen in the eyes of the others who had penetrated him. Of course, he saw none of that. Sure, there was need and the blonde man beneath him did hold a certain air of vulnerability but, it was not the same. As he positioned himself over the erection that had begun to anxiously brush against his ass, the older vizard even appeared a little hesitant.

"You sure?" he barely said between heated breaths. He was almost shaking with anticipation.

Ichigo gave a slight chuckle and slid the hard flesh between his cheeks teasingly. Not a moment later, he felt the vizard cum again and his seed coat his skin. Before another word could be uttered, he placed the head at his opening and, after taking a deep breath, slowly started to slide down the length, stopping periodically to relax when he felt himself starting to unconsciously tense.

Shinji sat back in awe as he watched his younger friend slowly take him inside himself.

Once seated at the base, Ichigo could feel the blonde's member twitching inside him. It was an unusual and rather arousing feeling. He took Shinji's hands in his, palms together, fingers laced, and started to grind his hips. The feeling stirring inside him caused him to gasp and buck a little before raising up and sitting back down again.

"Oh, Ichi-…ah," Shinji barely mumbled when he came again.

The young vizard was surprised to find how much he was enjoying himself. He had enjoyed the last time that Shinji had been inside him but this was a little different. This time, he actually felt like he was in control. Good thing too, because from the way the older man was behaving, he knew that there was very little control left within him. The strange sense of power that this realization gave him led him to be even more aggressive, gripping the vizard's hands tighter and moving with even more vigor.

"Nnngh-ah! Shit! Ichigo!" Shinji involuntarily tightened his grip as well, digging his nails into the back of the young man's hands.

Ichigo's grin grew and he moved faster, harder, more aggressive. The man beneath him responded even more desperately, even whining a little as he thrust his hips upward. When Shinji really started to hit him hard, it didn't take long after that before he came, losing himself all over the blonde's fair chest and stomach. He even moaned the man's name as it happened because he had a feeling he might like that.

At the feeling of the young vizard's orgasm, Shinji's eyes rolled back and his vision went white as he felt himself sitting up and wrapping his body around the one above him, screaming incoherent things and suddenly losing consciousness.

When Shinji suddenly fell limp to the ground, Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat. At the end of his experience, he distinctly remember drifting into unconsciousness. What happened to his friend looked more like it hit him square in the face. "Shinji?" he carefully prompted.

No answer.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. "Oi! Shinji!" He shook him a bit.

Still nothing.

The teen pursed his lips for a moment in thought. He was fairly sure that the man was just fine, if only a bit worn out, but something told him that it wasn't over quite yet so he tried something a little different. He leaned down and ran his tongue along the outer rim of the blonde's ear. It earned him his much desired reaction. Shinji grabbed him again and rolled them over so that they were cuddling. "Ack, hey! You're all sticky!" he complained.

"Shut up." He said nothing more as he nuzzled into the young man's chest with a contented sigh. Ichigo took the hint and let himself fall into a much needed sleep.


	6. Raincheck pt 3

Shinji awoke a couple of hours later to the sound of splashing and the feeling of dirt clinging to ever bit of his skin and hair. Rolling onto his side so that he could face the noise, he caught a glimpse of wet orange hair only a few meters away. For the most part, he had forgotten about the hot pools his old friend had somehow managed to include in the design of the underground facility. A grin slowly grew on his lips when his eyes finally focused enough for him to tell that the teen was doing laps and when he was able to sit up a little, he could see that he was not the only one still without clothing. Not a moment later, he found himself moving toward the water and slowly sliding in.

Ichigo noticed his friends approach when he was about halfway from where he started and watched as his honey eyes rolled back at the feeling of the nearly steaming hot water. He even thought he heard a bit of a satisfied groan just before he submerged, tangling his fingers in his hair in an attempt to reach a more tolerable level of filth. The teen smiled and swam up behind him and, when the blonde emerged, he wrapped his arms around him, bringing him into a warm embrace.

The older vizard started at the sudden physical contact but quickly just gave in and leaned back into the young man's body. "Good idea with the hot pool."

"I remembered how good the bath I took after last time felt and couldn't resist bringing you here," he admitted while nuzzling the fair neck of the man in his arms before withdrawing, "Besides, you got me kicked out of gym before my favorite part of the day." He playfully splashed.

Shinji couldn't help thinking how much better the normally short-tempered substitute soul reaper's demeanor seemed to become after a good lay. He also couldn't help thinking, "Hell, if that's all it takes to keep this kid in a good mood, I think I could get used to it." But, instead of that, he said, "I couldn't stand to see you like that after waiting all day," he feigned impudence.

"Like what?" Ichigo asked knowingly while returning to rub the knots out of the blonde's shoulders.

This kid actually had the balls to try to make him say it? "You were almost naked right in front of me and I knew you'd kill me if I even touched you. Do you have any idea how torturous that is?" he replied with a slight grin. "If I didn't know that you were really that dense, I'd call you a cock tease."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ dense," Ichigo tried to defend but couldn't really come up with a case.

"Okay then, how about naïve?"

This time, Ichigo actually frowned but continued the massage.

"What?" Shinji could feel the scowl burning into the back of his head as he asked incredulously, as though it wasn't rude at all to be labeling his friend like that.

"You think I'm naïve because I didn't catch on to your stupid little signals," the teen griped.

"Well, I'm sure if we asked an neutral party, they would agree that, considering the circumstances, and your high standard for unnecessary decency, I made myself perfectly clear."

"I really wish you'd stop blaming me for that. Wasn't I sympathetic as soon I knew what was going on? You're such a horn dog anyway sometimes that it's hard to tell when you really mean it. You could've just pulled me aside and said something, ya know?"

Shinji rolled his eyes. He didn't really think it should have come to that but what was done was done and nothing could change that. Besides, the here and the now was so much better that he found it difficult to dwell on those more agonizing moments. Instead, he gave a resigned sigh and leaned back against the lean body behind him. "I'm sorry I expected so much of you, I really should have just let you be," Shinji reluctantly but genuinely apologized.

"Don't say it like that. I'm sorry for blowing you off so many times. I sort of pushed you into a corner."

Shinji smiled at how compassionate his young companion was being, "It's just that…it's really easy to forget that you only kind of understand."  
Ichigo's brow furrowed. "You keep saying that."

The older vizard turned around. "Please don't be offended. You should be glad that's the truth. Because you're a human, you'll never suffer the full brunt of that occasional need. I realized that as soon as you spoke to me when I approached you last time. You had so much self-control…you have no idea how envious I am of that."

"I dunno, I'd say you did pretty good. You didn't even really try to touch me until we were alone together in that detention room."

Shinji wrinkled his nose and gave a bitter chuckle, "Only because I've had so very long to train myself. …to think, I used to get so irked by the prudence of humans and here it's working out quite well for you."

"Could you show me?" Ichigo tried but couldn't find the right words.

"Show you? I'm fairly sure I did just that," Shinji gave a lecherous grin as the more vivid memories flashed through his mind.

"No I mean like…" the teen made a sound of frustration at his lack of eloquence and his growing embarrassment wasn't helping either. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I mean, isn't there a way I could get even a little closer to what you experience, even if it's just once?"

"Ichi-kun, I don't think you realize what you're saying. I couldn't possibly do that to you," the older man replied resolutely.

Ichigo scowled. "So there is a way but you don't think I could handle it," he accused.

Shinji was about to roll his eyes in his token expression of exasperation but he was called out on that as well.

"And quit rollin' your eyes at me! It's really starting to piss me off."

"No, I couldn't do it because I don't think any decent person should have to deal with it and all the baggage it comes with, okay? It would be cruel and I don't really do cruel."

"Then quit reminding me that I don't really get it. Unless you're willing to fix it, 'cause I'm doing everything I can."

He almost rolled his eyes again and the only thing that stopped him was giving a sigh instead, "You're right. I'm sorry," he apologized with an undertone of bitterness before playfully adding, "Can you ever forgive me?"

"I guess…I was really worried about you for a minute, right when you passed out. You were just suddenly out cold, I almost panicked." Ichigo's tone was also taking on air of playfulness.

Shinji laughed at that as well, "I wouldn't say that I passed out. I was just napping."

"Whatever, you were out like a light."

"I told you, I was just resting. There is a difference between a cat nap and going unconscious."

"Yeah there is, and you were unconscious," the teen continued to argue, once again missing the very subtle difference that the older man was implying.

Shinji turned around and locked lips with the orange-haired young man and when his mouth opened to voice a protest at the sudden sensual assault, his tongue dove in, cutting off any words and turning them into muffled sounds of confusion. The confusion ended when the blonde vizard gave a small moan into Ichigo's mouth and pressed their bodies firmly together. If the young man wanted his partner to be forward, he saw no reason to try any other tactic, especially at this point.

A few long moments after Ichigo started to kiss back, though it was a little difficult with the way the older vizard's tongue was searching and tasting what felt like very crevice and detail of his mouth. He eventually had to break the kiss and even withdraw slightly within the embrace so that he could catch his breath. "Wh-what was that for?" he nearly panted, a slight smile curving his lips.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm not totally done yet…but if you are, I can deal with that," Shinji replied, the lusty glaze over his eyes once again visible.

"And if I'm not?" Ichigo asked suspiciously but with marked excitement.

"Then I just wanted to give you a break."

Ichigo frowned again.

Shinji rolled his eyes, "Now what?"

"You didn't need a break when you were 'helping' me," Ichigo nearly pouted, his ego obviously a little bruised.

"Yeah, well," Shinji closed the embrace once again, bringing their bodies flush and allowing his once again hardening member to be felt, "That's because I didn't need a hard-on to finish you off, it was just a nice surprise that it happened that way."

"What are you trying to say?" Ichigo blinked stupidly. It wasn't that he wasn't getting the message, but he still wanted to be sure.

"I think you know," Shinji's naughty grin grew as one of his hands reached down and started coaxing Ichigo's semi-hard length to its full girth.

The orange-haired teen swallowed hard and he felt his heart skip a beat when his arousal stirred.

"I want you inside me again," Shinji huskily whispered into his friend's ear, raking his teeth along the outer shell and down the side of his neck, "like last time," he added, his breath already short just from the anticipation.

"Like last time?" Ichigo repeated the qualifier somewhat incredulously. If there was anything he felt even the least bit of guilt concerning his previous experience with the older vizard, it was the way he'd mindlessly screwed him into the ground with almost total abandon and disregard.

"Oh yeah," Shinji nodded eagerly, "or if you think you could do it harder or maybe faster?" he playfully ran his tongue along his teeth and then his lips.

Ichigo's knees almost gave, "You can't be serious…" he breathily and half-heartedly protested.

"Unless you don't think you could do it, I'd try to be understanding," he playfully taunted while allowing his remaining free hand to idly toy with the young man's nipples.

The teen's breath caught in his throat the first time he tried to speak but a couple of breath's later, he managed something. "You cheeky bastard," he chuckled while lacing his fingers in messy blonde hair and pulling his friend in for a hungry kiss.

Shinji felt himself melt into Ichigo's strong body, as his own was tired and worn to the point of near collapse already. Perhaps being unerringly forthright in speaking his desires toward the generally socially dense, but apparently rather sexually adept, young vizard was worth the slight embarrassment of having to put his needs into words. If it was going to get him kissed and groped like that, it certainly appeared that way. He even whined and his hips jerked when one of Ichigo's strong hands began groping and kneading his ass, fingers slowly working toward his puckered entrance. Instinctively, Shinji pushed back the moment he felt the fingers brush across his opening.

"Shinji, what would you have done if I said I'd had enough?" Ichigo asked as a distraction while working them toward one side of the pool.

"I would have tried again and if that didn't work, I would have left you alone, hoping I could find someone else who was half as good to me as you've been. I must admit, you've set quite a high standard," he managed through ragged breaths.

"You flatter me too much," Ichigo nearly purred as his index and middle fingers began to prod the tight opening, taking turns sticking the tips in and lightly pulling outward.

Shinji moaned and rolled his hips even harder.

"Who else could you have gone to?" the young man tried to distract himself while continuing to tease his friend's backside. It was a good think to know, in case this sort of 'arrangement' couldn't be managed next time.

The older vizard whined at the question. "I dunno. Probably Yuroichi," he replied, arching his back so their chests pressed together, their erections brushed against one another, and forcing more contact from those teasing fingers.

"I thought you said the girls were cruel," Ichigo obliged the physical request by pushing his index and middle fingers of his right hand inside.

"She's not one of us. She'll only torture you if that's what you want," he gave a slight chuckle and felt his member give a reaction from the notion.

Ichigo felt it too, "We can call her down here, ya know…"

The blonde gave an impressed nod, "I think she and Kisuke are sort of a package deal at the moment." To his surprise, the teen didn't recoil at the idea. "And that's not what I really want," he continued when he finally realized that they were at the side of the pool closest to where he'd entered.

Ichigo playfully splashed his friend as he withdrew from the embrace to rummage through the pile of clothes he'd managed to collect but somehow neglected to fold or anything like that. He shook his head in disbelief as he withdrew the half-used bottle from the pile, still finding it difficult to believe what his friend was saying.

Shinji carefully followed, not allowing the soul reaper out of arm's reach.

When Ichigo turned around, they were face to face once again. He gave a greedy grin as he lifted the blonde by the waist and set him on the edge of the pool. He kept his grip firm as he started to tease the turgid length now standing before him with his lips and tongue.

The older vizard whined and tangled his fingers in the unruly orange hair in his lap in a feeble attempt to force more contact. To his disappointment, but not surprise, he was too weak to overpower the young man's resistance. "Ichigo," he squirmed and kicked as he came on the young man's face.

He giggled a little at that, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who's done that," he teased before submerging to clean off his face. When he emerged once again, he returned to the task of orally pleasuring his friend.

"Ichigo…just fuck me, please," Shinji grabbed Ichigo's arms and pulled him partially out of the water.

"Whoah! I was just tryin' to make sure you'll be done when I am 'cause I don't think I could do it again any time soon," the orange-haired vizard struggled to regain control of his balance.

"Thank you but _please_ stop making me wait. If you're ready, let's go!"

"Okay, okay, jeez!" Ichigo laughed a little as he took a brief moment to lube up before positioning himself.

The blonde whined again and turned over, pushing his ass back toward his younger comrade. At that he felt the other start to push inside slowly, ever so slowly. "Come on! What the hell?" he pushed back suddenly, impaling himself.

"Shit, Shinji!" the teen groaned and bucked his hips, finishing the motion and burying himself to the hilt.

The blonde gave a satisfied grunt. "That's right, Ichigo. Harder!"

Ichigo, as much as he wanted to go a little slower to start with, so he could be allowed to adjust to his friend's tight heat, couldn't stop himself from slamming into him with increased intensity due to the encouragement.

When the young man inside him unwittingly struck his prostate several times in a row, Shinji's entire body buckled as he came in the dirt.

The sudden near collapse caused Ichigo pause, "Shinji?" he asked carefully of the heaving, shaking form before him.

"Oh my god! What the hell is the matter with you?" He tried to push himself back to the younger vizard but he was almost too weak to move much more than to turn his head so he could see the other's face.

Ichigo faltered once again at that reaction and just blinked stupidly down at his friend who, in spite of how his body was behaving, was apparently angry.

"If you don't start moving again in the next three seconds…I'll probably try to kill you…" the blonde warned.

The look in Shinji's eyes disturbed Ichigo almost as much as it turned him on. Without another thought he rolled his hips a couple of times before gripping the fair waist in his hands even harder and starting to bang him in earnest. He held on tight as the blonde's back arched while struggling to keep his limbs beneath him for some sort of support. All the while, he was serenaded by sounds of desperate pleasure, his ego stroked by the very idea that he could bring out such a reaction in anyone, but especially this individual. It was about the time he started wondering if Shinji realized just how loud he was being, but before he could ask himself if he had been so vocal, that he noticed one of the vizard's hands moving downward. That was when he decided to have a little fun with him before it was all over, as he knew it would soon be just that.

Just as his hand was about to start fondling his neglected length, as he lacked the strength and coordination to do anything more than that, Shinji felt it pinned hard to the ground. He gave a strangled groan of frustration and squirmed as Ichigo continued to pound into him with a blissfully relentless pace.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he teased, giving the older man's hand a slight squeeze for emphasis.

"Aghnnnah-Ichi-…kun…" he came again due to the taunt.

"And why do you keep calling me that?"

The blonde weakly whined and tried to tug his hand free.

"Is it like when Urahara calls you Shin-chan?" he released the appendage and moved his hand to the throbbing length. He felt it pulse with another orgasm the moment he took it in his grasp.

After that peak, Shinji managed to retort, "More like when you call him Urahara-sensi," he panted.

Instead of letting himself get angry with the shopkeeper for his kiss-and-tell, he pushed it to the back of his mind, reasoning that he could get back at him later if it really still bothered him at that point. Besides, he was much too distracted by the implication.

"If that's how it is, then why don't you call me sempai? I think like the sound of that better," Ichigo encouraged by gripping the girth in his hand even harder.

Shinji came again as he spoke his next words, "Ichi-sempai, yes! Harder, please! Deeper! More, more, more!"

Just as the wave of Shinji's most recent orgasm ebbed, Ichigo felt the same rush overtake his senses. The teen gave a hoarse cry when he felt the blonde come again, the release seeming to lengthen his own. Instead of falling forward onto his already unconscious friend, he sat back on his heals and took a moment to catch his breath and really look at the older vizard.

He looked totally worn and used but the slight smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth, even in his sleep, made all that seem okay. His hair was matted with the dirt and sweat that once again covered his body. Not that Ichigo was doing much better in that department, but at least he didn't have it all over his face. He gave a slight shrug and repositioned the blonde so he wouldn't wake up with any strange aches, as the aches he was going to have anyway would surely be more than enough. Then, he quickly took another dip in the hot pool to get the loose dirt off before slipping back into his slacks and making a quick trip back up into the shop.

* * *

Slowly, carefully, Ichigo opened the trap door just a sliver, only enough to get a small peek at what was going on in that room. He didn't see anybody but he could hear talking. It sounded like Yuroichi was still 'sipping tea' with Urahara. A deep breath later and he was making his way toward that room.

"Kurosaki-kun, what happened to Shinji-kun?" Urahara asked with feigned concern the moment he caught sight of the teen.

Ichigo gave the older pair an odd look, they apparently weren't messing around, at the moment. When he saw that Yuroichi's expression held some genuine concern, he decided to answer. "He's asleep down by the hot pool. I was hoping I could borrow some bathroom stuff so I can help him get cleaned up. I never really realized it before, but there's a lot of dirt down there. Have you ever thought about planting some grass or something?" Ichigo mused.

Yuroichi simply gave an amused giggle. She was more than happy to see the handsome young man coming out of his shell in this way.

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you. How sleepy is he?"

Ichigo laughed, "He's totally out." He made sure this time.

"Then why don't you take a quick shower while I gather up those things for Shinji," the shopkeeper offered.

"I'll go down and watch him then. Waking up alone, especially after all that, would be really depressing." Yuroichi was starting down the ladder by the time she was done speaking.

When she was out of earshot, Urahara led Ichigo to the bathroom.

"It's good to see that you're so helpful now…really coulda used that a few hours ago," Ichigo sniped offhandedly as he stepped into the small bathroom.

"See, I told you," Urahara taunted, "I guess you weren't paying attention during our lesson."

"Told me what?" Ichigo asked suspiciously, turning slightly to eye the older man.

"People always assume the worst," he answered in a sing-song voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You think I just held you two up for fun."

"Or 'cause you were waiting for an invitation…" Ichigo sniped again, this time under his breath as he put his hand on the door, ready to slam it into the man in the hat if necessary.

Urahara reacted to that a little more quickly than he intended, causing the young man nearly retreating into his bathroom to start when he took his chin between his thumb and index finger. He forced the young man's gaze up toward him, reveling in the resistance, and when their eyes met, he gave a warm smile. "You're actually mad that I didn't just let you dive down into my basement so the two of you could fuck each other stupid?"

Ichigo glared but his pride would allow him to withdraw, "I'm sorry we barged in. I didn't think you would mind. And I'm mad because you knew what was happening to him and even though you were so nice to me, you practically tortured him."

"Would you rather have me torture you both?" Urahara offered.

Ichigo actually managed to pull away after that comment but his wrist was caught before he could close the door.

"Ichigo, I'm kidding. I did it to see how you would react. Either give you a chance to back out if you needed to or prove to Shinji that you weren't simply doing it because it was a good time for you."

The orange-haired teen grew a sudden appreciation for his older friend's harsh tactics, allowing his scowl to wane slightly. "Well, thanks, I guess…" This time he actually managed to get the door closed before another word could be spoken. He was a little irked that Urahara felt the need to test him as such but when he realized that Shinji probably enjoyed getting dragged off like that he couldn't summon enough anger to hold a grudge.

As he washed his hair, he gave a sigh at the realization that he was letting the shopkeeper get away with quite a lot. First the kiss-and-tell and now this? What next? He didn't want to think about that until something else barged its way to the forefront of his thoughts. Shinji's occasional reminder of his lack of understanding. The words rung in his brain before diving into the pit of his stomach and festered.

* * *

A few minutes of thorough scrubbing later, Ichigo was out of the shower and wrestling with a slight dilemma, his missing pants. He had a fairly good idea who took them but it really disturbed him that he hadn't noticed the theft while it was in progress. Wrapping a towel around his waist, and making sure to keep a firm grip on it, he exited the bathroom and searched out the older man. He ran into him in the hall way only a moment later.

"Where are my pants?" Ichigo asked, totally un-amused by the prank.

Urahara grinned. Apparently, the teen didn't see which room he came out of. "Your what?"

"My slacks. I know you took them while I was showering." He accused impatiently.

"Oh, yes. I remember now. But that information is going to cost you."

Ichigo frowned. "What?"

"Show me that scar on your inner thigh," he instructed in all seriousness.

The teen scowled even more deeply than usual.

"Please?" Urahara added with an eerie quality of serenity in his tone.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, the images and feelings of standing in only a towel before Aizen's ridiculously large throne for a similar purpose. He couldn't help wondering if this man would be as physically forward as the fox-faced man. Then he remembered something. "I don't know what you're talking about," he gave as innocent a look as he could.

"I think you do," the shopkeeper tipped his hat down a little further.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and humored the man by briefly pulling the towel away from his right and then his left thighs. "See? No scar."

It was Urahara's turn to frown. "I see. Never mind then. You're clothes are almost done washing and should be dry by the time Shinji feels like getting dressed." Then he led the young man back to the trap door. Sitting next to the opening was a bag. It looked familiar but the contents was much less obscene. He was surprised to find that he was mildly disappointed by that.

"Hey, thanks again," Ichigo managed through a slight blush but he was not rewarded with a smile as he hoped. It made him hesitate. He shifted again and eyed the other carefully, receiving an expecting look in response. He looked down through the trap door and then back toward his older friend a couple of times before he was prompted to explain himself.

"Is there a problem, Kurosaki-kun?" The shopkeeper allowed a fair amount of his irritation to slip through.

"I want to ask you something," and he wasn't sure if he should since he'd just lied so blatantly to the older man.

"You know you can ask me anything," Urahara nearly cooed in spite of himself.

"I think it's safe to say that Shinji's experience is a lot more intense than mine, right?"

"Well, since I only have observation to make my judgments from, I may not have the most informed opinion but I think that's a pretty safe bet, yes."

"Do you think it would be possible to even that out a little?" Ichigo asked carefully.

"Well, I don't believe there is a way to lessen his experience. They've been trying to do that since the first occurrences. It may be possible for someone like yourself to get closer to what they go through but I don't think it's something that can be artificially duplicated."

"Thanks." Ichigo considered leaving it at that but the nagging feeling that Shinji unknowingly left him with, as well as the look he was receiving from the shaggier blonde, begged him to continue. "How?"

"Why would you want to do that Kurosaki-kun?"

"I didn't say I wanted to do it," he carefully parried but to no avail.

"Come now, I know you better than that. You wouldn't ask me something like that unless you were seriously considering it."

Ichigo chose his next words carefully. "I want to understand his suffering. I was hoping for some insights."

Urahara wasn't sure what to say to that at first but he did eventually did manage something. "Don't you think he be a better candidate for that?"

Ichigo shook his head 'no'. "I think I'd need someone with a more…objective perspective."

He was taken aback by the teen's honesty and thoughtfulness, as he often was. "Once again I am very flattered. Perhaps another lesson is order?"

Ichigo smiled, now that he had a better idea how the shopkeeper operated, it was much easier to get what he wanted from him. However, he had yet to improve upon his poker face.

"The next time your condition surfaces, come to me first thing if you really want to go through with this."

"Thank you, Urahara-sensei," Ichigo picked up the bag and opened the trapdoor.

"I was right about something else," the older man added with a chuckle.

"What's that?"

"You are a terrible young man," he replied, shaking his head before pushing the young man down the hole.


	7. Lucid

Yoruichi was glad that she decided to go keep an eye on her old friend because he did happen to stir once before the young man's return. She sat at the edge of the pool, between Shinji and the water, with her feet soaking in the welcoming warm liquid and didn't immediately notice when his eyes opened just a sliver. However, when he gave a slight groan and turned his head to see who was sitting next to him, she did take notice. Carefully, she leaned down and brushed his hair away from his face.

"Yuroichi?" he barely spoke her name.

"Ichigo will be back any minute. Don't you worry, that boy's gunna take really good care of you!" she giggled. "I'm just here so that if you woke, you wouldn't be alone. I know how much you hate that."

He used what little strength he had to smile back. "Thanks."

"Hey," she turned his face to look directly at hers, "have you told him yet?"

"Told him…?" he was already starting to lose consciousness again.

"That you two can't keep going like this," she prompted, somewhat impatiently.

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"Probably…"

"If you don't, I know someone who probably will."

"He might not need to know. It might not effect him. You should have seen the resolution in his eyes. It lasted until the very last moments and returned shortly after. Making him worry about it might only make things worse."

She pursed her lips and the moment before she spoke, the vizard was back asleep. She gave a sigh of resignation. Perhaps Shinji was right. She didn't have much of a problem letting his plan run its course but she wasn't as sure about the blonde upstairs. He hadn't said anything about it, but he didn't have to. She knew she wasn't the only one with that running through her mind. It was just a matter of what the shopkeeper had in mind.

* * *

Ichigo returned a few minutes later. Seeing that the blonde was still sound asleep, he simply set down the bag and joined his darker friend in soaking his feet.

"Thank you," he managed while playfully kicking a little water at her.

She smiled warmly but the warmth was quickly replaced by mischief when she splashed him back, "Watching over this angel was no problem," she reached back and stroked his hair again.

"I mean not just for this, before too. I can't believe I was just going to sit there and let that old pervert mess with us like that. I think it's the first time I didn't feel weird about you being naked," he joked, thankful that she was at the very least wearing a pair of panties and one of Urahara's shirts.

She pouted a little. "I find that a little insulting," she gave him a playful shove.

The teen turned red with embarrassment, "I don't mean it that way!"

After a moment of considering how much fun she could have if she continued verbally trapping the young man, she watched Shinji stir ever so slightly so, she reconsidered and simply pulled his towel away while shoving him into the water. She giggled, tossed the towel into the bag, and scampered off with only a wave to say good-bye.

If the sleeping vizard hadn't been close to waking to begin with, he was certainly going to wake after the loud splash and indignant yell that accompanied it. By this time, he had regained enough of his strength to sit up and watch his friend make his way back out of the water. "I'm glad you came back…" he barely whispered and was glad that the other was too distracted to hear him since he hadn't meant to say it aloud. It wasn't until those words unconsciously slipped from his lips that he realized how anxious he had become in his companion's absence. As he watched Ichigo's toned body slip out of the water and toward him once again, his anxiousness fled and he couldn't help smiling like a fool.

"That good?" Ichigo teased cockily as he approached.

Shinji had hoped that the young man was returning to embrace him once again but he was off by a couple of feet and when he grabbed the bag sitting next to him instead, his smile faltered slightly.

"You wanna get cleaned up?" Ichigo grinned as he pulled a bar of soap from the bag.

That made Shinji's smile return in full before he looked down at himself and frowned again, this time much more playfully. "You sure know how to make a mess of me, ya know that?" he informed while trying to stand.

Though the blonde was doing a decent job of getting to his feet by himself, Ichigo felt compelled to lend him a hand which, surprisingly, was readily accepted. It was only after they were both rinsed off a little and getting ready to soap up that Ichigo pulled Shinji into his arms and started to wash him. To his surprise, he was resisted, not entirely but enough to make him hesitate. "What's the matter?"

"You don't have to bathe me," Shinji laughed a little.

"But what if I want to?"

The older vizard melted into the young man's arms, finally allowing the heat of the water to soothe his worn muscles. "Thank you," he groaned at the feeling of strong hands clearing his body of his accumulated filth.

Ichigo didn't say anything, simply focusing on the task at hand. First, he would wash part of Shinji then, with a little bit of help, he same part of himself (even though he didn't need it) , alternating like that until both of them were clean. When they were, he swam around to face his friend once again.

By this point, Shinji was almost too relaxed to notice the strange look on Ichigo's face and even though he wasn't really up for any sort of serious conversation, he had to ask, "What's on your mind?"

Ichigo gave him a sheepish look before replying, "Can I wash your hair too?"

Shinji was a little taken aback by the question, especially since it was asked with the utmost seriousness. At first, it made him hesitant. It had been a long time since he'd allowed someone else to wash his hair but it was much shorter now and with a shrug he replied, "Go for it."

Ichigo grinned almost stupidly but started immediately. He didn't want the blonde to change his mind. He poured a little more shampoo into his palm than he would for himself and quickly rubbed it between his hands before starting to lather up. The young soul reaper didn't want to admit it but he'd never done this for someone else before, it was something that came to him while he was washing the older man's body. There was just something about that perfectly straight almost golden hair that made him want to touch it and, since it was very, very messy, he wanted also to clean it, to make it nice again.

Shinji gave a sigh of contentment when Ichigo leaned him backward to rinse the suds from his head. As he did, he got to look up at the young man's face. He was smiling and humming to himself some tune the other had never heard before. The blonde vizard couldn't help find the entire situation endearing and it was at that realization that he felt his stomach turn just a little. All this felt a little too good. Ah, but those fingers now messaging conditioner into every inch of every strand of hair on his head made him quickly forget, or at least push it to the back of his mind, once again.

* * *

Days, weeks, months went by until Ichigo's need returned. He'd been so anxious about his deal with Urahara that he paid very close attention to when his symptoms might surface. However, since he'd only experienced it once before, he almost had a couple of false alarms but the evening that it began he was sure of what it was. There was no mistaking the tingling that started in his chest and radiated outward. After some tossing and turning, he did managed to fall asleep but only to awoken at about two o'clock by a wet dream. He tried to push it out of his head but it had to have been one of the most realistic dreams he'd ever had, if not the most realistic. That and there was something about the dream that perplexed him. He'd been thinking about Urahara even since he had the slightest inkling that it was coming on but the dream had been about Shinji exclusively. Usually when something or someone was ruling his thoughts so thoroughly any dreams he had would ruled by those ideas, thanks in no small part to his hollow who took great joy in using anything at his disposal to torment the young man from inside his own soul.

Ichigo took a deep breath and swung his legs over the side of his bed. After taking a moment to change his pants and his sheets, he went to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face, and possibly a couple other areas. He made sure to close the door before turning on the light because his sisters' door was open. As he turned on the faucet, he took a look at himself in the mirror. Seeing nothing unusual, he bent over and splashed his face a couple of times. However, when he stood back up, he saw a face that was not quite his own in the mirror this time. He glared and received a giggle in response.

"What the hell do you want?" Ichigo asked under his breath.

"Fuck Urahara. Go get that pretty blonde. He's got a sweet ass." The hollow in the mirror licked his lips.

Ichigo almost gagged while watching his hollow's blue-black tongue slide over its black lips. "Not this time." He shook his head.

The hollow's eyes narrowed. "Why the hell not?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you." He grumbled though it didn't mean quite what it sounded like it meant.

"I suppose you don't…but just because I know what you're thinking, doesn't mean I understand it," it griped.

"Whatever." Ichigo turned off the light and returned to his room, not really feeling any better than when he'd left. When he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes the hollow's voice returned. At least he didn't have to look at it.

"Even if you're not gunna go get Shinji, you need to do something about this now," it persisted.

"I'm going to do something about it but it can wait until morning," he replied mentally instead of verbally.

"No, it can't wait!" he finally yelled.

Ichigo scrunched up his nose and closed his eyes even more tightly. Perhaps if he ignored it, it would get bored and quiet down.

"I'm not gunna shut up even if you ignore me!" And for the next hour or so, the hollow combined his unique brand of mocking criticism with his sexual fantasies. He would say things like, "He likes it when you really drill him, stick it in as deep as you can…", "Or how 'bout when he sucks you into his throat and swallows. He likes the taste of your cum, ya know." or, "You like his pretty hair, I bet he'd let you pull it."

Finally, Ichigo caved. "Fine! I'll do something! Just shut the fuck up!" he almost screamed.

It laughed but the taunts subsided.

The teen gave a sigh of relief and grabbed his cell phone off his desk. Reluctantly, he called Urahara. After four rings, a very groggy voice greeted him.

"Hello?" the shopkeeper answered.

"Um, hi, Urahara-san?" Ichigo quietly and nervously asked.

"Kurosaki-kun? Why on earth are you calling me at this hour? Are you in trouble?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Then to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked sarcastically when the young man on the other end didn't elaborate.

"Umm…well, you told me to come see you when…it started to happen again but since it's so late, I thought it would be better if I just called."

"Well this is a bit of a surprise. Why don't you try to get some rest and then come visit me before you go to school tomorrow?" He suggested with a yawn.

Ichigo's first thought was how outrageous it was that he should be suggested to rest, since he'd already done that and it's usefulness had seemed to run out. Then something else occurred to him, "You expect me to go to school tomorrow?" he barely kept his voice down.

"Well, yes, of course. You can't afford to miss any more school then you already have, remember?"

Ichigo's heart nearly stopped, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"I want you to understand that I'm going to be taking this very seriously," Urahara informed with a somewhat reprimanding tone.

Ichigo gave a dismissive sound. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means that if you're doing this just because you think it'll be fun…then you should just hang right now."

The young man frowned and it was reflected in his tone. "I already told you why I want to do this."

"Oh? Could you remind me then?" It wasn't that he didn't remember. He wanted the young vizard to say it again as something of a reminder to himself.

"I told you that I wanted to understand what Shinji goes through," he rolled his eyes.

Urahara shook his head and made a tisk-tisk sound. "No. You said that you wanted to understand his suffering. That creates an emphasis on the negative aspects of the experience. Is that what you want? Or would you rather something a little more well rounded?"

"Well-I…" Ichigo wasn't sure what to say to that. The way that Shinji behaved implied that the ordeal wasn't all bad but some of the things he said clearly indicated somewhat to the contrary. He did want a better understanding of the experience as a whole but at the same time, he didn't want to sound like he was reneging on his word.

"I figured you meant a better understanding of the overall ordeal even though you made it sound otherwise."

"Yeah, you were right," Ichigo was willing to concede at that point.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow before you go to school then? I suggest that if you cannot rest, you use your time to do some thinking." He didn't leave any room for argument.

"Yeah." Ichigo hung up before Urahara said good bye. Carefully, he folded his hands and tucked them neatly beneath his pillow, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doin'?" the hollow demanded.

"I'm trying to get some rest," Ichigo grumbled indignantly into his pillow.

It laughed. "You can't possibly be serious."

"You know I am."

"Well, we'll just see how well that works out for you, won't we?" It suddenly grew unnervingly quite.

After a few long agonizing minutes of not touching himself, Ichigo did mange to drift into a restless slumber. As it was happening, he thought to himself how easily he won that battle but before he could mentally pat himself on the back, he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness instead of sleep and it was too late to stop it. He heard his inner hollow giggle before everything went black.

* * *

Before he could summon enough of himself to react he felt that he was wearing a long silk robe…and that was it. Then, a moment later, he felt a presence behind him and a pair of strong hands kneading his hips through the almost too soft fabric. The fingers were thin and strong and seemed to know exactly which points to apply pressure to, when to push harder, and even when to back off a little. Those hands felt so good that he quickly forgot the oddness of their frigidity, that is, until he felt an equally cold pair of lips pressing and brushing against his shoulder blades. He gasped and tried to jerk away when he finally realized who was molesting him. "You…" he hissed.

"Who else?" it nearly purred before taking a moment to flick his serpentine tongue out at each of the vertebra that protruded from the back of the young man's neck. As he predicted, this elicited a shiver and then some. He actually had to help the teen keep his balance when he knees buckled slightly. "Please, my king, do not fight me tonight." The twisted plea was whispered into the soul reaper's ear.

"Get real!" He tried to push away again but found that his body only moved with that of his assailant. "And get your freaky cold hands off me!"

"My hands are only cold 'cause that's what you expect," he explained as he pulled the young man into a closer embrace.

"Since when are you ever what I expect you to be?" Ichigo shot back weakly.

It didn't bother answering that question. Instead, he slid one of his hands beneath the silken robe, "You made my hands very soft, see? Why would you do that?…Unless you want me to touch you."

"Aaahhh," Ichigo let out a breathy cry when those icy digits ran up and down the curve of his side. "What are you doing?"

"You always ask such stupid questions," he taunted before nipping at the side of the teen's throat.

"If you leave so much as a scratch on me," Ichigo tried to sound threatening but his voice was already beginning to forsake his word in favor of less definable but more meaningful sounds.

"You'll what? Really, what could you possibly do?" He felt the soul reaper's heart skip a beat. "Not that any of the is real…"

"Not real?" Ichigo repeated in disbelief.

"Of course not. Do you really think that the things that happen in your head are real?" it continued its verbal as well as tactile teasing, letting the hand that had slipped beneath the thin garb move from the young man's side to his chest where each of his fingertips took its turn brushing lightly across his quickly hardening nipples.

"Eeegh! Stop it!" This time he actually managed to pull away and turn around so he could get a look at his assailant as well as their surroundings, or more appropriately lack there of. They were completely surrounded by black nothingness in all directions. He wasn't even sure what they were standing on because as far as he could tell, nothing solid existed beneath them. Then, his attention came back to the only other thing in this seemingly empty space, his hollow, porcelain skin seeming to glow even though there was obviously no light source. He blushed deeply and immediately looked away when he realized his hollow was nude. "Ack! Why are you…?" he barely stammered.

"Naked? Well, my king, I was about to ask you the same question. It's hardly fair, considering that you at least gave yourself that silly robe. I guess you made up for it by giving me this…" he trailed off as he ran his fingers, the ones once on Ichigo's skin, along the front rim of a hollow hole placed in the center of the creature's chest, where his heart would have been.

Ichigo watched his hollow shiver excitedly from his own touches. His eyes grew wide when he noticed the hollow's untouched erection twitching and jerking from just that small self-service. "I don't believe you. There's no way I'm responsible for this!" He tried to look away but found he couldn't.

"King," the hollow mewled shamelessly, "Okay, you're right. This isn't exactly your fantasy…but it's as close as you'll let me get to mine…"

The young soul reaper was taken aback by that. "What's going on? What is this place? What did you do with the buildings and the sky?" he asked to distract himself from the disturbingly sensual sight before him.

The hollow's hips rolled at the fact that the young man didn't sound angry, just confused. "Come here," he motioned with his free hand.

Hoping for an answer to at least one of his questions, Ichigo did as was requested of him. As he did, he was rewarded.

"You see, my king, you might consider this something similar to lucid dreaming. So, we're still inside you're mind. I just cleared some space so there wouldn't be any distractions." The hollows elaboration was over before Ichigo had completely closed the distance between them so, with a slight sigh of indignation, he reached up and grabbed the soul reaper's wrist.

Ichigo nearly fell when he was pulled downward, only really catching himself on his hollow and was once again taken aback by the frigidity of the creature.

"We can do whatever we want in here," it bragged when Ichigo's ear drew close to his lips once again.

Before he could form a response to that, Ichigo felt the hollow's strong arms wrap around him and pull their bodies flush so that their arousals pressed together. They both groaned at the feeling. The groan faded as they locked lips. To his surprise, when their tongues met, the hollow's was playful, not domineering. That fact gave the young man a greater sense of confidence, enough confidence to reach up a hand to play with the hole in his colorless double's chest.

At the feeling of his king stroking the inner walls of his hollow hole, the hollow broke away from the kiss as a moan tore through him. The attention continued, even increased, and before long he came between their bodies. When he did, he grasped the young soul reaper's hips and ground them against his own as hard as he could. When that release subsided, he could hear a slight chuckling. "I'm glad you're mood's improved… What's so funny?" the hollow grumbled.

"I never thought I'd say this," Ichigo resumed the sensual attention to the hollow hole, "but you make the cutest face when you cum."

Golden eyes glared daggers upward but it was only half-hearted and it only lasted a moment. "Wanna see it again?"


	8. Dreamer

Ichigo slowly moved downward until his lips reach the upper rim of the hollow's soul chain hole. He gave it a quick kiss before flicking his tongue out. Then, as he traced the edge with the tip of his tongue, the hollow came again. The teen smirked and tasted the fluid that was now splattered between their bodies. At first, he couldn't believe his senses so, he took a second taste. Then, he looked up at his inner self in amused disbelief.

"What?" it groaned at the loss of contact.

"Strawberries, really?"

The hollow gave an impish grin downward. "You like that?"

Ichigo did like it but he wasn't going to say it both because he didn't want to admit it and because he knew he didn't have to. "So, this is your fantasy? Looks a little…plain to me."

The hollow scoffed between moans, "Hardly. Like I said, this is as much as you'll let me get away with," he complained bitterly.

The teen frowned upward. "Let's see it then," he offered in a challenging voice.

The hollow laughed. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

Ichigo felt a rushing around him and in the blink of an eye, their positions were transposed and instead of wearing a flowing silken robe, he was helplessly bound by one long black ribbon tied around his body in a design that was an inescapable as it was intricate. It was complete with a large bow that rested at the crisscross between his balls and his shaft.

Instinctively, the young man struggled within his bindings but more as a test of their resistance than in an attempt to escape. The hollow took great joy in watching his king wiggle beneath him but couldn't wait more than a couple of seconds before he was spread the young man's legs. He teased the hot puckered opening with the head of his cock, soaking it with the precum that flowed freely from the tip.

Though disorienting, the shift wasn't as bad as it could have been. Had the hollow also created surroundings for him to process, it would have taken him longer to adjust. However, his inner demon was more concerned with other things. In fact, it was their continual suspension in empty black space that bothered him. Perhaps the hollow was used to floating in nothingness but it was something that would unnerve any human. These dizzying thoughts were pushed aside when he felt the swollen head of the hollow's member began to slide inside him. He gasped and instinctively tried to repel the intruder. "Aahhh…it's cold…"

"You're on fuckin' fire…" The hollow already knew that he wasn't going to make it all the way inside before coming but he hadn't expected it to happen that quickly. He grumbled a few choice expletives as his hips jerked forward, forcing himself the rest of the way inside as he came.

That one thrust made the bound soul reaper see stars and his cock gave a sympathetic reaction. He groaned and tried to push back. It was only then that his bondage started to irk him because if there was one thing that Ichigo truly hated, it had to be an inability to act of his part. Inaction was unacceptable so, before the hollow could completely withdraw for a second thrust he focused his thoughts and the rushing was felt once again.

This time it was the hollow who had to blink a couple of times to make sure he understood what he was seeing. They were suddenly surrounded by candles which turned the once steady but unidentifiable light source into a softer flickering light. More noticable than that, though, was the addition of shadows, something that one doesn't notice the absence of until they are returned. Not only that but they were on a large bed sheeted in red satin. Before he could process any of the number of new details, his king did something that brought his full attention back to what they were doing. He wrapped his arms around the hollow's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss only lasted a moment before the golden-eyed double pulled back to examine the changes in his partner.

To his surprise, he hadn't completely removed the ribbon. In fact, he'd only freed his arms, leaving his legs and torso firmly bound, possibly even more firmly than before. "You're such a fuckin' sap," the hollow grumbled as he began to drive into the teen once again, this time determined not to stop for anything.

"We both know you love it," Ichigo nearly growled as he reached up to play with the hole in the hollow's chest. Almost as soon as his fingers made contact with the sensitive inner flesh, the hollow came again, this time with a low groan.

Ichigo awed at the reactions his hollow was giving, especially the wild squeals of pleasure he would sometimes make when he came. Then, after a particularly strong orgasm, the hollow all but stopped, like he had intended to stop but his body kept moving anyway, and look down at his king. There was a definite irritation mixed in with the insatiable lust. "What's the matter?"

At that, the hollow did stop, "I don't like the way you're lookin' at me," he complained.

"How's that?" Ichigo couldn't help sounding offended. In actually, he thought that if his expression in any way reflected how he felt, it should have been something similar to an aroused and fascinated admiration.

Suddenly, everything disappeared and they were back to where they started, in the middle of literal nothingness with a single silk robe worn by the young soul reaper. "Anytime somebody's stickin' it to ya, you always have the same expression."

"Is that so?" Ichigo didn't hesitate to crawl closer.

"Sometimes, when you look into their face, I can see yours reflected in their eyes…and when we were in Heuco Mundo and I was in charge, I could feel it. It's rather unbecoming and I'm surprised no one's said anything to you about it," he sniped.

"So what look am I giving you that's got you so pissed off?"

"Pity, disgusting pity." The hollow closed his eyes and turned away. He was so furious with the young man and so driven by these desires that he didn't really understand that he almost couldn't function any more. However, that didn't stop his hands from making their way to his lap where he carefully stroked his throbbing length.

Like most things, Ichigo didn't really realize that he'd felt as much pity toward his hollow, as well as the other's he'd been with, as he did until it was pointed out to him. At first he felt crestfallen until he wasn't going to give up at that point so he started to crawl toward his pale double. To his surprise, the hollow didn't back away and the look on the hollow's face disturbed him almost as all the manically expressions he'd come to loathe. It was an expression similar to the one that Shinji wore when he was trying to leave Ichigo in the detention room. Ichigo could tell that the older vizard had finally set himself on leaving but as soon as Ichigo touched him, all that was gone. There was a similar occurrence inside the soul reaper's mind. The hollow, for the first time ever, was actually backing away from him, not much, but enough to be noticed. "I don't pity you," Ichigo tried.

"Don't be a retard. You can't lie to me." He was a split second from ending the entire encounter until the young man reached a careful but determined hand out to him. However, as soon as Ichigo touched his thigh, he pounced on the orange haired teen, pinning him to a wall of solid nothingness. "I think I know how to fix it, though…" he trailed off as he turned his king about. He didn't finish his thought because his face was nuzzling the back of Ichigo's head while his member slide back and forth between Ichigo's ass and thighs, nudging the back and underside of the teen's balls.

Instinctively, Ichigo struggled as he was being pinned but it was short lived because of the hollow's rough affections. When it started to tease his nipples, his back arched and he moaned.

At the sound of his king's pleasure, the hollow growled and held him even more tightly and came between the teen's thighs. The young man made a slight sound of disgust at the feeling of his skin being coated with the hollow's seed and at that it giggled. "I can feel it leakin' out of ya." He didn't give him time to reply to that before thrusting into him once again. "It makes ya all slipp'ry inside like a girl."

Ichigo couldn't stand to have the hollow talk to him that way and tried to push away but he couldn't make himself move. The hollow's hands on his body felt too good to deny, especially when they would tweak his nipples and stroke his cock. Moments later he found himself coming with his hollow.

The hollow could feel his king's body start to go limp in his arms after his release, however the soul reaper's erection didn't wane. "Givin' up so quick? You're still all hard here."

The orange-haired teen whined at his partner's relentless pace. Being fucked that hard was turning his limbs to jelly and his brain to mush. All he could seem to do was cry out with each of their orgasms until suddenly his eyes flew open and there was a harsh buzzing next to his head.

"Ugh…five already?…damn…" the teen turned off his alarm clock with an audible groan.

"What the fuck was that?! Get your ass back in here!" the hollow suddenly demanded.

Ichigo cradled his head and looked down at himself. His sheets were a tangled sticky mess and he began to wonder if any of his family had heard the sounds he was most likely making in his sleep. All he could do was pray that they hadn't and try to clean up his mess.

"Wait! What are you doing?" the twisted voice inside the soul reaper's head continued to demand.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting ready for school."

The hollow screamed until he realized that the teen was set in his ways, "You're gunna be that way, fine! Just do me a favor?"

"What's that?" Ichigo grumbled mentally.

"At least jerk off in the shower."

* * *

Ichigo managed to wait until six o'clock, two hours before school started, to leave for the Urahara Shop. He arrived minutes later and actually hesitated when he reached the door. He half expected the older man to be waiting for him on the porch. He slid the door to the shop open, "Hello? Is anybody here?"

"Back here. Come on in," the shopkeeper's voice called from another room.

He made sure to take off his shoes before entering further. After that, he made his way to the sitting room where he found Urahara waiting for him with a pot of tea.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun. Have a seat. We have a few things to discuss," he motioned with a friendly grin.

"Good morning," he managed. "What do you wanna talk about?" he asked nervously.

"Well, first off, I want to make sure you understand why I want you to attend school today, besides the fact that you're probably right about missing too much school as it is."

"It's because I made Shinji wait through an entire school day, right?"

Urahara gave a pleased nod.

"Okay, what else?"

"Certainly not in a mood to waste time, are we?" he chuckled. "Okay, why don't we switch gears a little then." When Ichigo eyed him suspiciously, he continued, "I would also like to make sure we come to some sort of understanding before we get started. It might take me a little bit to find which things provoke the reactions we need so please be patient with me if I have to try a couple of different things before I get it right. If there's anything you don't want to do, just says so, but I would appreciate a reason why."

"Okay…I think I can handle that. Anything else?" he asked cautiously.

That was when Urahara really smiled. "Yes, there was one more thing. Could I ask you to pull your pants down for a moment?"

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Come now, I'll make it worth your effort," the older man leaned toward his guest, his grin never wavering.

Ichigo finished his cup of tea and with a sigh, "Sure, what the hell, right?"

Urahara gave an approving nod as he refilled the teen's tea cup. "Just a moment. I'll be right back." He hurried off.

Ichigo was nearly finished with the second cup when the man returned with an all too familiar object, the vibrating purple egg. Immediately upon laying eyes on it he shook his head 'no' and began to back away. "No way am I letting you do that to me while I'm at school."

"Please? I really think it will get you closer to the understanding you desire. It won't be on all the time. Just…periodically."

A few minutes of convincing later and Ichigo did pull down his pants for the old lecher. "Ugh…fine." He watched the shopkeeper's normally hidden eyes grow wide at the site of his erection.

With a warm and affectionate smile, Urahara reached behind the young man on his knees and slid the object inside, the slight bit of oil that coated the smooth plastic surface allowed it to enter easily and with little discomfort for the young man. Then, once it was in place, he did as he did in their previous encounter, he turned it on but this time instead of one of the lower settings, he went straight to high.

Ichigo made a desperate sound before toppling over but before he could protest, the blonde's mouth was on his member, kissing, licking, and suckling before finally drawing him into his mouth ever so slowly. It was something of a surprise to both of them that he didn't come right away. Rather, it took a couple of good long sucks to get him off. He almost couldn't believe how hungrily the older man swallowed his come and kept bobbing in his lap until he came again. He gave a groan of satisfaction when Urahara pulled away, wiping his lips and turning off the vibrator, because he'd managed to tame the length to a semi-erect state instead of a throbbing hard-on. "Thanks. What was that for?"

"I didn't get to do that last time. Since there's no one else here this morning, I thought I'd make it up to you."

Ichigo smiled sheepishly as he redressed, somewhat regrettably.

"It's almost time for you to head off to school. I just have two more things. I think it would be helpful if you didn't orgasm more than once an hour," he informed and though he tried to sound serious, a bit of mischievousness slipped through.

"And?"

"And do you have Kon with you?"

Ichigo had been in such a hurry when he left that he wasn't sure. He quickly checked his pockets. "No, why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I'm uncertain whether it will make a difference, but one of your forms may be more sensitive than the other. Please retrieve that soul candy before you return, just in case."

With that, the orange haired teen was reluctantly off to face his day.


	9. School Days

To his surprise, Ichigo's walk to school was uneventful. For some reason, he was worried that someone or something would ambush him. However, when he got to school he was faced with all his classmates and he never realized how attractive a number of them where. He had to slap himself several times when he caught himself checking out people that he would never consider sleeping with. "Six hours…six hours…" was his mantra but it didn't always work, "…six hours…six hours…sex hours…damn it!"

Most of the usual tricks worked on his way into the school and to his classroom. He managed to keep his arousal in check through the school yard but once he was inside, he had to carry his books in front of his lap. That did the job and once he was seated at his desk, he thought he was safe, at least for a while. However, the powers that be seemed to have other plans.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime greeted with a huge smile.

Even just the sound of her voice made his blood rushed downward. "Ah-um, Good morning, Orihime-san," he replied nervously. He knew she was standing only a few feet to his left but he couldn't make himself look at her.

His reaction worried her. Usually, he was very happy to see her. "Is there something wrong?"

"What? No, nothing's wrong," he stammered, only making her worry more.

"Are you sure?" she leaned over and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. "You feel awfully warm," she needlessly informed.

Watching his crush's bosom hovering over his desk was almost more than he could take and then, when she touched him, he thought he might pass out. "I-I just feel…a little under the weather…that's all," he covered.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should go home. I could let you borrow my notes," she offered.

Ichigo wouldn't have let her do that under normal circumstances because she took the most convoluted notes he'd ever seen. "No, that's alright. I'll be fine, really," he smiled nervously.

She gave him a look of disapproval but let him be. "Okay. Well, don't be afraid to ask if you need anything, okay?"

To Ichigo's surprise, up to that point his hollow had remained quiet. Unfortunately, it didn't last. "Motor boat! Tit fuck! Come on, something!" He screwed his eyes shut for a moment. "Yeah, sure," he agreed. At that point, he was saved by their teacher. He never thought he'd be so happy to listen to her drone.

As Orihime made her way to her seat, he heard her talking with some of his other friends.

"Is Ichigo okay?" Chad asked her in a hushed voice.

"I dunno. I think he's just a little sick," she answered.

"Well, if he shouldn't be here then. He'll get the rest of us ill," Uryu complained.

For once, Ichigo found himself agreeing with the quincy because at that moment he felt the object inside him start to move. It went for a solid five minutes before relenting. He didn't know how he managed not to whimper or do much squirming but he was quite proud of himself.

When listening to the lecture wasn't enough of distraction anymore, as watching his teacher's lips and tongue articulate English syllables was starting to become a distraction in itself, he tried to remember the sequence of Shinji's school day. So far so good. He decided to try to make it through his first class after lunch, even though Shinji had skipped it in favor of pleasuring himself. However, he was seriously considering cutting out before gym class, as picking a fight to get out of it wasn't exactly his best idea. Fortunately for Ichigo, the shopkeeper only saw fit to switch the device on once more before their lunch break and even though it was almost for ten minutes, it was a very low setting, one he could _almost_ ignore.

While his friends went out to the school yard to enjoy the beautiful afternoon, Ichigo told them that Uryu was right about the possibility of him getting them needlessly ill. So, for their own good, he should eat alone. They bought it, albeit with reluctance on the part of some, namely Orihime and Keigo. As soon as he was sure he was in the clear, he snuck up to the roof to have some time alone.

He sat down with a heavy sigh with his back to the door so he would know if someone was going to be joining him. It was only then that he realized he was practically shaking with need already. Screwing his eyes shut, he threw his lunch against the low wall that surrounded the roof, wanting so very badly to free his aching member and give himself some release. However, he knew that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop himself and he didn't want to think about what Urahara would say _or do _if he found out that he wasn't able to manage the 'only one orgasm per hour' rule. Before he could get any further with his inner turmoil, someone appeared before him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw her. "Hi-Hiyori?!"

"That's right, Berry-head," she snorted with a kick to his side.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"You can't have him." She informed, her tone with a dangerous edge.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with false incredulity.

"You _know_ what I'm talking about."

Ichigo continued to scowl from his seated position.

"You want Shinji. You can't have him. Got it?" She reasserted.

"For your information, I have no intention of looking of Sh-…him," he crossed his arms over his chest, startled that he had trouble even saying the vizard's name without wanting to come.

"You say that now…" her eyes narrowed and she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "but just wait, you'll try and I won't let you fuck him up like that!"

"Get off me you crazy little bitch." Finally, he shoved her away before a smirk formed on his lips, "Jealous much?"

She scoffed. "Don't give me that shit. I know you want him. I saw your pants move when I said his name, ya horny retard."

"If I want him so bad then why am I here?" he shot back even though he knew she was right.

That caused her pause. It was actually something that she'd been wondering herself.

"Besides, what are you? His keeper? His Mommy? Maybe his wannabe irlfriend?" he continued with a bit more confidence due to her slight falter.

However, this tactic didn't work. It only put her back on the offensive. "You can't fool me. Just stay away from him, okay? Why don't you go get Ms. Tits to help you? I bet she's got plenty of hole to stick your dick in." In actuality, as much as she loved berating the substitute soul reaper, she deeply disliked the position that the situation between him and her old friend had put her in.

Ichigo glared. It was one thing to mess with him but bringing Orihime into it wasn't helping. "I don't see what the big deal is," Ichigo grumbled and tried to stand. It would have been a successful attempt had Urahara not saw fit to turn the egg on again. This time, it was a mid-range setting and it made him knees buckle. "Besides, he came after me first."

An understanding dawned on the younger-looking vizard's features. "He didn't tell you, did he?" she asked, her anger shifting from the orange-haired young man to her blonde comrade.

"Tell me what?" Ichigo asked suspiciously. The tone she used even made him forget about the thing inside him for a moment.

She made a sound of epic frustration and stomped her foot. "That fool. Damn him!"

"What?" Ichigo began to panic due to her reaction.

She suddenly froze and eyed him very carefully before trying to leave without another word. She would have been successful if she hadn't taken such a good look at him. It appeared that his entire body was flushed and he had to make a conscious effort to control the erraticism of his breathing. A moment later, she found herself slowly approaching the teenager, backing him up against the door again and looming over him as he looked up into her sharp eyes. "Why aren't you lookin' for Shinji?"

"That's none of your business," Ichigo managed. There was no way he was going tell her about his plans with Urahara.

"Tell me and I'll tell you, how's that?" She crouched down so that their faces were even closer.

He felt totally pinned by her even though she wasn't touching him at all. However, unlike when he encountered his classmates, he didn't feel the desire to reach out to her. "I-…" he thought for a moment. It was a deal he was willing to make but he needed to choose his words carefully and the heat in his body was making that level of thinking difficult. Luckily, the object inside him became still again. "I have plans with someone else later."

She nodded in approval and backed away.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Tell me what you were freaking out about!" This time he did actually manage to stand. "What didn't he tell me?"

She thought about it for a moment and just before disappearing she replied, "Never mind."

Ichigo wanted to scream or chase after her but the bell signaling the end of his lunch break was over and, as he'd been trained to do for so many years, he pushed his personal problems to the back of his mind and made his way back to his classroom.

* * *

Along his way, he couldn't decide which was making his skin turn redder, the strange condition he was suffering from or the embarrassment of having other people see him in such a state. Either way, he was beet red when he finally arrived at his seat. His complexion was so noticeable that when their teacher returned, she approached him about it.

"Kurosaki-kun, you don't look well," she began.

"I'm just a little under the weather."

"Well, if you're ill, it's not fair to the other students for you to be here," she began.

"I'm fine, really," he waved his hands in innocence but then someone else decided to butt in.

"That's what I said," Uryu complained from a few seats back. It was mostly under his breath but the teacher and Ichigo could still hear him very clearly.

"I know I told you that you need to stop missing classes but I can't have you here if you're sick. If you won't go home, at least go see the nurse," she ordered.

Quickly, he gathered his things and scurried out of the classroom. His first thought upon entering the hallway was to leave the school grounds and go to Urahara. He couldn't be punished for being sent home, right? He made it down to the first floor before he remembered that the shopkeeper wanted him to bring Kon which meant stopping home for a minute before going to the candy shop.

That was about the moment he froze in his tracks. His sisters would still be at school but his dad would still be working at the clinic in their house. He looked up at the clock above the exit. He wouldn't be able to go home for another ninety minutes, and only after making sure his dad was already gone to finish his day up at the hospital. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, the teen took a look around, only then noticing he was about five steps past the men's room. As he recalled, Shinji had said something about ducking into a bathroom after lunch so who was he to argue?

He didn't even wait for the door to swing shut behind him before his fingers were at his belt. Only hesitating for a moment while he made sure he was alone, he ducked into one of the stalls and fumbled the latch. "Do I have to have him?" he suddenly asked of his hollow while removing enough clothing so as not to make too much of a mess of himself.

"Yer askin' me?" it asked suspiciously.

"Who else would I be askin'?" he tried not to groan as he began stroking and coming almost immediately.

"Ya never listen to me so I was makin' sure," he teased back.

"So, do I?" His hand didn't stop moving.

"I dunno. I dun think so…but it would be really nice to have him right now, wouldn't it?" If the hollow had had control of the soul reaper's body he would have licked his lips.

Ichigo resisted the urge to move as his hollow wanted but only with biting his lower lip and a few muffled curses.

"He said he thought 'bout ya suckin' him off. Is that why you're thinkin' 'bout his lips on your dick?" the hollow taunted, knowing that he was the primary reason the young man would fantasize about anything at this point.

As he recalled the feeling of Shinji's lips pressing kissing into the head of his cock, he came again.

"That's number three…" the hollow counted, adding the memory of when Shinji took the whole of him into his mouth and throat and swallowed.

Ichigo groaned at his inability to stop himself from continuing as well as his inability to stop thinking about the blonde vizard. As much as he tried to redirect his attention and think about anyone, or even anything, else the hollow kept bringing him back to the one person who eased his suffering the last time something like this happened.

"Why him, damnit?!" Ichigo demanded as he came a fourth time.

"I dunno…I just like him. He knows what we like. Just go get'em and ask'em yourself if ya wanna know so bad," the twisted voice taunted.

Ichigo shook his head no and a few minutes later released for the fifth time. As soon as the orgasm had started, he pulled his hand away. This meant letting his cum shoot up onto the bottom of his shirt so that he wouldn't be able to immediately continue stroking himself toward another. He nearly tore the toilet paper dispenser off the wall in frustration but when he heard a crack and felt it start to give, he found enough of his sense to let go and quickly redress. The sooner he got back out in public the less likely he would be to get stuck in the bathroom any longer then he already had been.

Exiting the stall, he went to the sink to do as he had done the night before, splash cold water on his face.

"It didn't work last time, what makes you think it'll do any good now?" the hollow continued and appeared in place of the teen's reflection once again.

Ichigo sneered but had to look away when the hollow in the mirror started to pull its robes off teasingly. The hollow giggled maniacally and Ichigo barely caught the handle of his bag as he bolted out the door.

* * *

He had to wait about outside his house, hiding out across the street, for about twenty minutes before his father got into the car and drove off. He was humming some stupidly happy tune and had an irritatingly pleasant spring in his step which made Ichigo glad that he chose to avoid his father this afternoon.

He gave a grumble as he entered his bedroom to find Kon leisurely sleeping on one of his pillows. Then he realized that might not be such a bad thing and started sneaking toward the bed. He kept his breathing steady as he approached and was only three and a half silent steps away when he tripped over his towel, left in the middle of the floor after his hasty shower, and stumbled forward.

It was enough of a commotion to wake the mod soul. "Ack! Ichigo? What time is it?" He leapt to his feet and looked at the clock. "What are you doing home so early?"

Ichigo, not in the mood for this discussion, lunged toward the stuffed lion. He missed, but only because Kon was now accustomed to the stuffed body and could manipulate it much better than when they first met.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" He dodged again, this time only barely, but it was enough to slip between the wall and the bed.

Ichigo growled in frustration and reached beneath the bed but there was enough other stuff under there that he couldn't get even a good swipe at the animated plushy. "I'm going out. I just need to bring you with me in case something happens…" he tried to reply without actually elaborating.

"Then why not just wake me up? You think it's funny to sneak up on someone when they're sleepin'?" He fended off the hand reaching after him with a shoe this time.

"Come on! Quit being such a pain and get out here!" the teen demanded pulling the shoe away but not managing to get it with the lion attached. No matter, the mod soul was running out of clutter to hide behind.

"At least tell me where we're goin'! Your little hollow badge isn't even goin' off. " When there were only two more things standing between him and the soul reaper he noticed something rather odd. "Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Flustering the young man usually led to more violent outbursts but it also made him less accurate, hopefully buying him a little more time.

"Why do you care? At least you're gettin' out!" He nearly tangled the creature under his bed in a t-shirt but he managed to flail himself free before he was within arm's reach.

That caused the mod soul to pause. It was enough for him to get snatched up, Ichigo's hand wrapping harshly around his stuffed arm. He struggled futilely and hollered, making the teen glad that there was no one home. As he was lifted into the air, one of his front paws brushed against the young man's crotch. "Whoah! Holy crap! You really are happy to see me!" That was when Kon began to really fight in earnest. "What are you doing with me? Put me down!" He wanted to argue more but the hand not holding him in the air was going for his mouth. Using his free hand, he covered his mouth.

When he couldn't dislodge the soul candy he stopped fighting the lion and simply held him in the air, scowling. "Why are you being so difficult?"

Kon growled and shook his head 'no'.

They were apparently at an impasse so, in his growing urgency, Ichigo dropped him on the bed.

"Mind telling me what's going on?"

Ichigo blushed and shifted awkwardly.

"Ichigo?" part of the indignity of the mod soul's voice turned to something more concerned. "What's the matter?"

Ichigo gave a heavy sigh and sat down in his desk chair. "You remember that one night…" he found it difficult to even look at the stuffed animal on his bed even though he knew it couldn't form an expression of any sort, let alone one of disgust.

"What night?" he asked suspiciously

"The night I went with Grimmjaw," he quietly elaborated.

"Keh. How could I forget?"

Ichigo took a few minutes to explain, as carefully as he possibly could, the reason why Grimmjaw had treated him that way.

"…k." Kon backed away a little. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Well," he took a deep breath, "Remember how you said you wouldn't say anything about it unless I started acting weirder?"

If it could have, the mod soul's face would have paled. "Yeah…"

"I…have a similar problem," he admitted reluctantly.

"So is that why you're-ummm…" He wanted to say 'practically bursting out of your slacks' but he knew that wouldn't go over very well. Luckily, the teen nodded before he had to continue. "What's it got to do with me?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"Nothing really, I hope."

"You hope? What's that supposed to mean? Why are you even bothering with me, then?"

"Well, let's just say that to get through this, I may need to exit my body. I'd rather let you take care of it than just leave it lying around."

"That's all I have to do?" Kon asked suspiciously

"Yeah. What'd you expect?" Ichigo replied indignantly.

"I dunno. The way you were actin' made me think you needed me to do something weird."

"It's really embarrassing So, you mind if I just carry your candy around?"

Kon appeared slightly crestfallen, "I understand, you don't wanna carry around a stuffed animal."

That was when Ichigo decided to throw him a bone for being so understanding, "More like I don't want you to see me like this."

"I don't see what the big deal is," he said, finally approaching the keeper of the body he enjoyed so much. "Ya don't look so bad off to me."

Ichigo couldn't maintain eye contact any longer, "Thanks but it'll get worse. A lot worse."

Kon appeared skeptical again.

"If you don't wanna…at least just don't tell anybody," he grumbled.

"I can't believe I'm saying this. Sure, I'll go."

Ichigo sat in shock for a moment. "R-really?"

"Yeah, before I think about it too much," he opened his mouth.

"Oh god, thank you," he hesitated no further, snatching up the candy and hoping out the window.


	10. Self service, sorta

Ichigo didn't bother knocking when he entered the Urahara Shop. He figured that if anyone had a right to be there it was him. He was pleased to see that, like earlier that morning, the building appeared deserted. That is, until he heard the whistling of a tea pot. He followed the sound and met the shopkeeper in the kitchen moments later.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, right on time," the man in the bucket hat smiled and, after putting together a tea tray, led the young man to the sitting room. He made sure to make their place settings right next to one another. "How was your day?" he asked with a naughty smile.

"Distracting…frustrating," was all Ichigo could manage as he sipped the tea offered to him.

"Now, you're going to have to do a little better than that."

"I got sent home for being sick after lunch…" he blushed.

"Did you tell your teacher that you weren't sick?" the blonde asked knowingly.

"Yeah…she didn't believe me."

"If that's the case, then why didn't you get here sooner?"

"I waited all day…I-I couldn't wait anymore…" When the man sitting next to him, now leaning eagerly toward him, gave him an expecting look, he reluctantly elaborated on his ability to keep himself in check right up until he tried to leave the school grounds. "I knew that once I got started…" he knew he didn't have to finish that sentence.

"Why did you put it off like that? You must be so sore," the older man's hand traveled to the teen's balls and lightly massaged.

Normally, he would have thrown the old pervert away. Well, normally, they wouldn't be sitting that closely. Regardless, he found himself melting under the tender touches, nearly letting his eyes slide shut with a light moan that passed his lips. "I was gunna do it at lunch. I even, somehow, got away from everybody." He had to set down his tea cup or risk losing what little coordination he had in his hands and spilling the hot beverage on himself as well as the man occupying practically the same space as him.

"But something happened?" At that prompting, he felt the young man tense. "What happened?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Hiyori came to see me," he replied quietly, feeling an inexplicable pang of guilt, as though he was revealing a secret that he wasn't even privy to.

The sound of the feisty, young vizard's name made him withdraw. "Oh?"

"I don't really wanna talk about this…" he felt his body shake at the loss of contact, "but if we have to, please don't stop touching me."

Urahara smiled, "That sounds fair. Now, what happened?" He resumed his attentions, even expanding them to include the rigid flesh just above.

"She told me that I couldn't have Shinji."

"What an odd thing for her to say," he feigned innocence.

Ichigo eyed him suspiciously."She said that there was something he didn't tell me," he felt guilty for talking about her like this but the mystery she left him with was nagging him almost as much as his arousal and his desire for the blonde vizard. When the shopkeeper didn't prompt him for more information, he forced himself to look into his eyes. They were close enough that even the large brim of the bucket hat couldn't obscure his face. "You know what it is, don't you?"

"My dear boy, she could have been referring to any number of things," the blonde cooed, moving so he could brush his lips against the young man's ear.

Ichigo gave a weak growl of frustration and tried to push his affectionate attacker away, "You know. Stop keeping things from me!"

"Okay, say that I do know this mysterious secret. Don't you trust that either Shinji or I would have told you if it was important? It sounds like little Miss Hiyori was jumping to conclusions. You know, since this is about your understanding of Shinji's situation, I think you should be aware that she is the only vizard of their group that doesn't have this experience. The form she most often uses maintains a constant pre-pubescent state so she doesn't have to." He continued palming the eager length in the young man's pants. "Oh, my! Did you know your body reacts to the sound of his name?" With his proximity to the teen, there was really no way he wouldn't have noticed the increased tension when he said his old friend's name.

Ichigo gave a whimper, more from being called out on his reaction than from the reaction itself. "I need him, don't I?"

"Need him? That's a very desperate way of putting it."

"But if that's true…then why wouldn't he tell me? He made such a big deal about being my nakama…" the teen's breath suddenly grew short.

"Hey," the shopkeeper eased up on his administrations, but didn't stop, "slow down. Whatever gave you that idea?" Then he got the dear-in-the-headlights look that he both craved and despised.

"It's the hollow. That's like what they need. He won't shut up about Shinji!" Ichigo's hands flew to his head and he shook it back and forth violently, hoping to shake up the presence inside him but only managed to stir up his own thoughts even more.

Urahara gave a soft, affectionate chuckle as he took Ichigo's face in one hand and one of his hands in the other. "You can't stop thinking about him?" he asked knowingly.

The orange-haired teen couldn't make eye contact or even form a coherent enough thought to reply.

"You should know that makes me a little jealous," the blonde admitted with a sly grin.

Ichigo blinked stupidly at the man cradling his face with one hand and bringing the fingers of his right hand closer to their faces, which were now only inches apart.

"Is there anything I can do," he slowly teased the teen's pinky finger with the tip of his tongue, "to get your mind off him and, more importantly, on me?" the last word was barely uttered before he drew the petite digit between his lips and began to gently suck.

Ichigo's eyes rolled back as he came with a loud moan. As that waved ebbed, he carefully eyed his partner. He expected him to say something smart about the ease of his release. He was happy when it was about something else.

"Oh, dear!" Urahara dropped the young soul reaper's face and hand to move, without any sort of hesitation, to his belt. "You're a terrible mess now." Only as he deftly pulled the leather strap free of the thin loops of the student's slacks did he flash his lecherous grin upward.

Ichigo flinched when the older man snapped his belt in the air before dropping it to the side. Then, he recoiled slightly when those hands returned to work on his button and fly.

The shopkeeper hadn't intended to disturb his guest with the gesture but decided to keep going unless something was either said or done to tell him otherwise. In fact, he rather liked the idea that Ichigo would allow him to continue even though he was obviously uncomfortable. It was an expression of the implicit trust that the teen had in his older friend and it made him want to push even harder. How far would the needy young man let him go before he made a real protest? When Ichigo's slacks were finally open and pulled away, along with his underwear, boxer shorts incase you were wondering, the shopkeeper found himself a little taken aback. Not much, but enough to show on his face.

"What?" Ichigo asked self consciously.

Urahara shifted a little at being called out for gawking over something so simple, "I said you made a mess but I didn't realize _just how much _of a mess you made. You said you just took care of yourself…how many times was it?"

Ichigo gave a frown of both embarrassment and disgust. "Five," he replied quietly, "but that was right before I left school. I had to stop at home first to pick up Kon, remember?" he pulled the soul candy out of his pocket, figuring that the mod soul wouldn't appreciate being in his pants while they were soaked with cum.

"And in that time you had that much built up…" Urahara said, mostly to himself, before shrugging and starting to work on Ichigo's shoes, and socks while he was there.

"Is that bad?" Ichigo squirmed a little when the older man 'accidentally' tickled his feet.

"No, I wouldn't say that," he informed, his smirk returning. "Let's say it's impressive." He licked his lips for emphasis.

That made Ichigo feel even stranger. It seemed like a compliment but it was so dirty that he wasn't sure it was something he should be proud of. Instead of trying to form a reply to it, he just helped kick his pants off. After an intense moment of silent eye contact, Urahara stood, pants in hand, and started for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ichigo almost yelled with indignity.

"I seem to be doing more and more of your laundry lately," Urahara mock complained.

Ichigo blinked in incomprehension, the words 'you can't possibly be serious' on his lips but never actually uttered.

"I have to get these into the washing machine or else there will be a stain. Don't worry, I'll be right back." He had one foot out of the door before the boy managed to speak.

"You can't do that!" Ichigo was suddenly outraged. Even though he'd been given a release, he still felt like he was being left hanging.

"You let me wash your clothes before," he 'innocently' defended.

Ichigo screwed his eyes shut and growled in frustration. He was literally trembling. He hoped he wouldn't have to say anything but the expecting way his 'teacher' looked at him forced his words out, "Please, don't walk away from me…Urahara-sensei."

Urahara dropped the article and grabbed the teen.

The next thing Ichigo knew he was being literally dragged from the sitting room to the shopkeeper's bedroom, pushed onto the bed, and climbed on top of.

"You trust me a lot right now," the blonde purred.

"Yeah….it scares the shit outta me," Ichigo barely mumbled back, no longer aware of what he was saying.

He gave a short chuckle before going down on the young man, first tasting him before posing the question, "How would you like me to do this?"

Ichigo shook his head 'no'.

Urahara briefly considered giving the young vizard a hard time about his answer, or lack there of, but he knew well enough what it meant. Even if he hadn't, the look that he received said more than words ever could, 'I don't care how! If you're gunna do it, then just do it!'. So, he stopped teasing and started sucking. When he did, he decided that he would take his time, as last time he was not permitted to enjoy the substitute soul reaper so fully.

It wasn't long before Ichigo found his fingers tangled in messy blonde hair. He found it odd that, of all things, this would bring his thoughts back to his other blonde friend. It was the difference in textures that set him off. Where he had grown accustomed to the silky feel of the vizard's hair, he was only now noticing that the shopkeeper's was much different, wiry but, somehow, feathery. As this realization occurred to him, he gave a whimper of abandonment. It wasn't until he heard the sound he made echo in his mind that he noticed the older man had withdrawn almost completely. Before the look of guilt could even play on his features, the blonde spoke.

"You're thinking about him again," he stated plainly.

That's when the guilt really hit and he felt his stomach turn. He couldn't speak any more than when they'd entered the room but now it was a different set of emotions prohibiting him.

"It's okay. What about him?"

Ichigo frowned. "I'm sorry," he apologized, hoping that would get him out of explaining his distraction.

"I said it's okay," Urahara cooed, leaning over the teen once again, this time to loosen his tie. "What about him?" he repeated.

Ichigo was uncomfortably silent, aside from a few small sounds of pleasure, for a few minutes while his shirt and tie were toyed with. "His hair…it feels different from yours…" he almost mewled as he thought about it.

Urahara smiled. Actually, he too found the vizard's hair to be one of his best features but not as it happened to be at the present, "It used to be longer," he informed and when Ichigo bit his lip, he continued, "much longer." He made a motion down the back of his legs for emphasis.

The young soul reaper felt his hollow groan and squirm inside him at the idea, visions of his face buried in those long golden locks, taking in his scent, his very essence, giving way to those of taking a good grip and pulling, using the locks for leverage to thrust into him even harder. He almost came again. "If you're so jealous, why do you keep talking about him?" Ichigo weakly accused.

Urahara just smiled his unnerving smile.

"Is that why you stopped…?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"No, I stopped because if I swallow any more of your cum, I'll have a bellyache," he chuckled. The intense blush that Ichigo gave in response to that made it worth the admission. Without another word, he lifted one the teen's legs and gently pulled the purple egg from his backside.

Ichigo gave a weak moan and almost came again when the object passed through his opening. He was a little confused as to why it was being removed but he wasn't about to protest. Actually, he was surprised that it hadn't been turned on since he entered the shop.

"Go clean yourself up a little," the older man ordered.

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in disgust. "What for?"

"Several reasons," he replied offhandedly and only continued after a long moment of indignant silence and inaction, "Well, for one, I'd like to see if your soul form reacts any differently than this one."

"And for another?" Ichigo asked through gritted teeth and barely enough patience to remain seated.

There was a strange glint in the shopkeeper's eyes as he spoke his next words, "I may have to resort to more…extreme measures. If I do happen to leave a mark…_or two_, I would think you'd rather it not be on your human form."

Ichigo frowned deeply, suddenly extremely self-conscious of his vulnerability. "What if I say that I would rather stay in his body…at least for a little while longer?"

"I would want to know why you were being so defiant after how nice I've been to you."

"Okay…but what is he going to wear?" Ichigo hoped to put it off with the previous notion of washing his clothes.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You go to the bathroom and clean up. I'll leave something for you, or rather Kon, to wear outside the door." He offered as though it was no problem.

With a sigh of reluctance, Ichigo made his way past the older man and down the hall, making sure to snag the soul candy in the other room on his way. There were so many reasons he didn't want to exit his human body but he couldn't bring himself to voice them. His biggest worry was the confrontation looming over the scar on his thigh. He'd managed to evade it the first time because when Shinji had his way with him, he didn't have to use his soul form. He was so flustered already that he knew there was no way he could successfully lie about it and the only other alternative to that would be to not say anything at all. This would no doubt cause him even more grief and he would most likely end up revealing his secret anyway. The other major reason was something of a more trivial nature, when considered in the grand scheme of things that were really fucked up in Ichigo's life, and that something was Kon. He'd had to admit to having these uncontrollable desires and, even more humiliating, a condition similar to that of the very things he tried so hard to purge.

Once he was washed up enough to stand letting someone else use his body, he reached out the door to find a clean uniform waiting for him. It wasn't quite his size but it was enough to get the mod soul to the Kurosaki residence without further incident. Another reluctant sigh later, he was swallowing the green soul candy and felt himself being propelled from his body. He didn't turn to face Kon until he spoke.

"Are we where I think we are?" the mod soul asked with a slight air of disbelief.

Ichigo turned. "Yeah. But you can go now," he informed, unable to make eye contact.

Kon shifted uncomfortably, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he looked the soul reaper up and down.

"What?"

"You expect me to go home like this?" he motioned to the bulge that remained in the young man's borrowed slacks.

"I'm sure you know how to take care of it."

It was Kon's turn to frown. "Are you sure you'd rather go mess around with that old perv?" He licked his lips and took a slow step forward.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo took a step back, quickly remembering how small the washroom they occupied happened to be.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Chasing after older men…or maybe you like being chased by them? You never struck me as that type," Kon half-teased, moving around the soul reaper.

Before he could be backed into the wall, as it seemed the mod soul had in mind, he pushed his body, attempting to move it out of his way so he could reach the door. He wasn't sure what Urahara would do in response to the mod soul's strange and insistent attitude but it was better than being in the small bathroom with his aroused body while it was under the control of another. However, the room was a little too small to push someone completely out of the way and with how Kon fought him, half-heartedly at best, they ended up falling to the floor.

Without skipping a beat, because he knew hesitation would mean even greater denial, Kon leapt atop the orange-haired young man and began pulling off his robes.

"Stop it!" Ichigo fought back and because of the differences in their strength, he was able to hold his wrists securely enough to avoid further undressing. He knew he could easily toss the rambunctious mod soul off of him and run away, but then he would risk harming his human body and sometimes he didn't quite have a firm handle on his own strength, this being one of those times.

When his hands could no longer do as they pleased, Kon began rubbing his hips in circles against Ichigo. He felt the soul reaper shiver and _almost_ melt under the attention. The obnoxious affection, though oddly pleasurable, was not well received and the mod soul quickly found himself pressed into the push carpet of the washroom floor. Ichigo did a fair job of pinning him, leaving him with very little wiggle room, hardly any of which was sensual enough to bring real pleasure. That irritation caused him to glare upward but the glare only lasted a moment. As soon as he saw the look on Ichigo's face, no his entire being, he paused. His skin was rosy, he was panting, and his eyes had a strange glassy look to them. "Ichigo, are you okay?" he finally asked.

"Am I okay? What kind of question is that? Look, I came here because he knew about this…condition, or whatever you wanna call it, before I did. I don't have to explain myself to him, for once. He's seen me this way before…" Ichigo was babbling at this point but it was the only thing that kept him from raping his own body, an idea that greatly disturbed him. "Damnit! This is so embarrassing!"

"Ichigo, it's okay…settle down," Kon tried to ease but to no avail.

"No, it's not okay! And no, I can't settle down! Don't you get it? That's the whole problem!"

"Look, I was just tryin' to have a little fun with ya, that's all. You looked like you wanted it as bad as I did, more even," he mumbled that last part. "…and I never get to have any fun…but if you really, really want me to leave…I guess I will," he explained, though he knew he wasn't going anywhere any time soon with the intense grip that the soul reaper had on him. He was even beginning to think his hands were going to lose circulation fairly soon if he couldn't get the feverish young man to ease up a bit.

However, the action Ichigo found himself taking in response was leaning down and crashing their mouths together in a kiss that was so clumsy that it could hardly be called a kiss but had so many emotions behind it that it could be nothing else. When he finally got Kon to open his mouth to deepen this kiss-like affection, he spoke, "If you give me a hard time about this, I'm gunna shove you in my hamper for a week," Ichigo warned.

Kon giggled a little at that, "It's lookin' like you're the one who's gunna be givin' me a _hard time_," he rolled his hips upward as best he could for emphasis.

"Shut up and take it," Ichigo nearly growled as they continued their lip lock while removing their clothes.

Ichigo was about five seconds away from penetrating his own body when Urahara, drawn by the sounds of fervent undressing, opened the door. "What have we here?" he asked knowingly, taking the moments while Ichigo stammered to look over the pair.

Even if it wasn't obvious that they were both aroused, their eager erections were in plain view and only inches apart. Their skin was flushed, both were panting, and they both had a lusty air that made it almost impossible to jump on them.

Kon was the first to speak. "Quit leering. Get the fuck out!" he reached up and tired to close the door. This effort was easily stopped.

"Urahara-san," Ichigo shakily began, "Get him out of here, please!"

"What?" Kon immediately turned his full attention back to the young soul reaper.

"Why, Kurosaki-kun, you surprise me. Actually, now that I think about it, this may be the perfect arrangement for you," the older man half-teased.

"No, I'm serious, please," Ichigo pleaded.

"Dude, if you really want me to go…" Kon tried to withdraw but found the grip on his borrowed body only grew tighter. "I-Ichigo…?"

"You have to leave, please…" Ichigo told him roommate, his tone both ominous and embarrassed. When Kon hesitated, he turned back to the shopkeeper, "Please, make him leave!" He was starting to shake with the desire to continue molesting his own body, an awkward notion in itself but not the main reason for his reluctance.

Urahara gave him a disappointed look.

"Why aren't either of you doing anything?" Ichigo demanded. "Why won't you listen to me?"

Kon was quick to reply to that, "I can't feel my hand," he complained. As he predicted, the intense grip that the soul reaper maintained cut off the circulation to the appendage. However, he'd been too distracted by the hand on his hip, digging fingers in hard enough to leave bruises for sure, to notice until now.

There was a moment, it lasted a full three seconds, when Ichigo was sure his heart stopped. Then, he released his grasp and clumsily threw himself back and away. With a growl of frustration, he tore his eyes away from the identical body.

Kon was taken aback by that reaction. "Do you really hate me that much?" he asked as he slowly sat up.

"What? No, it's nothing like that!" He cracked an eye and stole a glance. He wanted to get a read on the other but he knew if he let his gaze linger, he would be atop the mod soul once again. "I can't stand to let you see me like this! It's unbearably humiliating. Why can't you understand that?"

Embarrassing Ichigo was something of a hobby of Kon's and after all the humiliating things that he'd been put through because of the young vizard, he found it difficult to have _much _sympathy. He threw a glance back over his shoulder at his creator, as if to ask for direction, or possibly permission.

Urahara gave a disinterested shrug, how he managed it was almost a miracle as far as he was concerned.

That was all the mod soul needed to take action. He jumped on the soul reaper, knocking him back to the ground and smacking his head on the side of the bathtub. As he watched the young man's vision blur, he finished removing their clothes, only receiving a weak whine in protest. After that, he only heard sounds of pleasure, reluctant at first, but heated beyond reasonable measure nonetheless, perhaps even allthemore.

Had Kon not been studying Ichigo's face for any clues as to what he was thinking or feeling, he probably wouldn't have noticed the smallest of black tendrils making their way inward from the outer corners of the vizard's eyes.

"This isn't a joke!" Ichigo found himself wrestling not only with his physical self but also his inner demon. "Do it now or so help me, I _will_ take control and I _will_ do it myself!" the twisted and overly anxious voice screamed.

Kon only hesitated when he sensed a spike in the young man's inner turmoil. This lead to him being pushed back to the floor, face first. They heard the shopkeeper chuckle as he pulled a bottle from his sleeve and tossed it to them. "I'll check back on you two in a bit. I have a few things that need tending to, you understand," he informed as he left, knowing that neither was really listening to him at this point.

Ichigo didn't even notice the bottle, focused only on positioning Kon's hips and attempting to push himself inside.

"Aaaghhh, Ichigo, don't do it dry!" he tried to push the bottle back. "You'll regret it as much as I will, probably more."

Ichigo only complied because he knew the lubricant would help him become fully sheathed with greater ease. "I'm so sorry," he said through gritted teeth before finally plunging inside, coming almost immediately.

Kon moaned loudly. He was being pounded into so hard that he couldn't even holdhimself up. He could barely even turn his head to look over his shoulder at the one finding pleasuring in him, and inadvertently providing an exquisite amount of pleasure for the much denied mod soul. The soul reaper's face was taught, his jaw clenched.

After his second release, he opened his eyes to see how his partner was doing. The eyes of the one on the floor were totally fixated on him. There was much pleasure in his features but there was also a morbid curiosity lying deeply beneath. "Don't look at me," he ordered.

"But I like lookin' at ya," he breathily replied between mewls.

"I said, don't look at me!" Ichigo repeated, moving a hand from the mod soul's hip to his hair. He took a firm grip and pulled upward so that they were both on their knees facing the same direction. He kept his grip so that he could force Kon's eyes forward. "You never listen," he growled as he came again. "If you'd just listen…this wouldn't happen…aaahngh."

"You call this a deterrent?" Kon scoffed. "How 'bout this, I don't look at you…and you quit pullin' my hair." He wanted more but that was defiantly a start. Surprisingly, Ichigo complied. He wasn't really the hair-puller, that was the hollow, so he didn't really mind letting go.

When he was released, his knees buckled and he was back on all fours. Fortunately, he was able to catch himself before he landed on his face. To show his gratitude, he pushed back and arched his body. The next words that passed his lips were spoken without forethought, "Touch me, please," he pleaded, his eyes screwed shut and buried in the carpet.

"What?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"Please. I know you probably don't really want to but please…I don't know what you did to your body before you gave it to me but it's so weak right now, I can hardly…Aaaah!" he was interrupted by the feeling of a strong hand on his swollen and aching member. He almost came just from that but managed to hold out until the soul reaper came one more time before releasing himself, spilling what cum he had left on the bathroom carpet.

A moment later, Ichigo found himself riding a nearly unconscious body. Sure, Kon was still moaning like a little bitch, but he didn't even have enough strength left to even try to support himself, allowing his full weight to be the responsibility of the one still going strong. In that moment, he also realized that the member in his hand had gone just as limp as the rest of his body. Slowly and wordlessly, he came to a stop, withdrew, and turned away.

Kon whimpered and slumped to the ground, an overly satisfied lethargy overtaking him. Eye lazily eyed the young man who now seemed to be across the room from him rather than occupying the same space as him.

Ichigo frowned when he finally looked back to see the other looking at him.

"I know, you don't want me lookin' at ya. Well, tough!" his tone was sluggish and somehow affectionate. "Ya don't look so bad ya know," he teased.

"Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone?" Ichigo complained.

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen," Kon dismissed as he slowly sat up. "Help me get cleaned up."

Ichigo complied, wincing when he saw some of the bruises he would have to nurse later. "I'm sorry."

"And quit sayin' you're sorry. It's a real turn off," Kon informed. Then, he noticed that the vizard's erection had not waned in the slightest. "What have we here?" he began lightly stroking it while maneuvering himself behind the one who was just inside him.

Again, his words were lost in a sea of pleasure as he unconsciously forced more contact. Kno was more than willing to oblige, moving his hand up and down the anxious shaft in ways that he knew, from experience, felt the best. The feeling that Kon received from pushing the aggressive, repressed, and mildly vindictive young man over the edge over and over gave him as much pleasure as being so completely dominated by him had only moments before.

"Ugh, don't tease me," Ichigo took Kon's hand, and subsequently his erection, into his and forced a rougher grip.

Kon laughed a little. "I already told ya that you didn't leave me with very much strength here." With that, he felt the grip around his hand tighten as the length pulsed with another release.

It was Ichigo's pathetic sounds of pleasure that drew Urahara back to his washroom. "Oh, my!" He had to adjust his pants and wipe his nose before he could continue.

"How long does he have left?" Kon asked, slowing easing off.

"Hard to say. Are you finished with him?" he asked with sudden impatience.

"If he'll actually let me leave this time," he half-joked. "Thank you," he told his friend with an uncharacteristically warm embrace before withdrawing, this time for good.

"Thank you," Ichigo barely replied, more concerned with the fact that he was being abandoned once again than anything else.

At the unexpected thanks, Kon threw a sated and appreciative smile over his shoulder before slipping into the shower to actually get clean.

"Come on, Kurosaki-kun," Urahara extended a hand to the prone young soul reaper, who slowly accepted it, and pulled him from the washroom. He only paused a moment before closing the door to call to the mod soul, "There's a room set up for you, down the hall and to your right."

"Whatever," Kon dismissed, too tired to care.


	11. Shinji's day

Hey, yeah...sorry for the long wait between chapters. Since school's started I've been swamped! (3 writing classes lots of portfolio projects) However, it has been nice to sit down and finish this chapter. I hope it's worth the wait.

Warning: Mega-cliffhanger!! evil laugh

please enjoy!

* * *

"That was quite a turn-about," Urahara teased as he closed the bathroom door and took in the sight of the naked and aroused young vizard before him.

Ichigo glared, as it was all he could manage. There were so many thoughts and feelings rushing through his being, some of which he wasn't sure were his, that forming any sort of verbal parry was beyond him.

"Don't worry. I won't make you talk about it." When the young soul reaper gave a sigh of relief, he continued. "If curiosity gets the better of me, I can always just scan his memories."

The teen sighed again, this time in exasperation. "What now?" he asked nervously. He was already shaking again.

"My dear boy, that's up to you. I think I've made enough decisions for you today. Why don't you do what you like for a while?"

Without skipping a beat, his first thought was, "Go find Shinji." his inner monologue in stereo with that of the hollow. He shook his head 'no', "I can't go outside like this…even if it is to find him," he mentally argued.

The hollow growled and tried to take control but to no avail. "Then get his ass over here!" it demanded.

Ichigo shook his head again, not really realizing how it would look if he kept shaking his head like that, but before he could continue the argument, the older man spoke again.

"You seem to have a strange habit of coming to _my_ home to do naughty things with _other _people," he pointed out, sporting the same sly and mildly jealous look he wore earlier, when they were 'sipping tea'.

The orange-haired vizard paused for half a moment while he made eye contact, just to make sure he really wanted to do what he was about to do. When Urahara's lips parted to speak again, no doubt something that was worded to sound like he was trying to be helpful but was really meant to rile him up, he grabbed the green collar and shoved the older man into the wall.

The former captain made a small sound of surprise before giving into the lips that were quickly descending upon his own. He felt more than heard the teen growl as he pressed their bodies together.

A few minutes later, Ichigo had to pull away so that he could catch his breath, having already come once from just rubbing their bodies together and staining the older man's clothes, not that he cared. After such a display, he couldn't bring himself to look anyone in the eye, let alone this man, so he buried his face in the crook of the shopkeeper's neck and continued his affections there, kissing, nuzzling, even biting a little.

"Perhaps we could take this back to the bedroom? It is much more comfortable there," he suggested, his tone only slightly chiding as he tried to lead them back down the hallway.

Ichigo, however, had other plans and stopped him by pressed him even more harshly into the wall, "No. I'm not gunna let you tease me anymore," the teen informed, his tone eerily even all things considered.

"Why, I haven't been teasing you," the former captain argued, unable to hide the amusement in his tone as he, once again, tried to maneuver them back to his room.

"You _are_ a terrible liar, Shinji was right," Ichigo mused while trying to hold the man in place while stripping him, a difficult task in itself.

"There you go, talking about _him_ again…"

Ichigo growled again for being called out. "The way you keep saying that makes me think that I _do_ need him to get over this."

"Oh? Perhaps you only need him because you _think_ you do," he suggested.

That's when the teen gave a dark chuckle and dragged the man to the ground while pulling his pants down, "We're gunna find out." He grabbed Urahara beneath his knees and tried to push himself inside.

In an act of greater desperation than he's like to admit, Urahara grabbed his cane and used it to strike the young man. He didn't hit him very hard, but it was between the eyes and enough to cause him to pause. However it wasn't long enough to really do anything. Actually, once the teen regained his bearings, he only became more aggressive, forcing him to take more drastic action. "Ichigo!" he scolded as he rolled them over, pinning the young man in the corner where the floor and wall met.

Ichigo fought him with every fiber of his being. "I can't take it anymore! Stop teasing me!" Now, he sounded as angry as he was desperate.

The shopkeeper had to use a significant amount of his strength to keep his guest in place. "I'm not teasing you," he repeated this time with actual conviction.

"Then why aren't we…?" Ichigo trailed off when his writhing body finished the sentence for him.

"If you finally think you have the balls to stick it to me, I'm not gunna let you do it without lube," he informed while grabbing the young vizard by the wrists and starting to drag him down the hall.

That was all Ichigo needed to hear, jerking himself free only to grab the shopkeeper and finish the job for him, but at a much greater speed. He didn't bother closing the door before throwing the older man onto the bed. To the blonde's surprise, the teen made for the bedside stand, where the lubricant had been pulled from the last time.

"Turn over," Ichigo ordered as he popped the cap.

"You are _so_ bossy!" Urahara mock-complained, trying to reach for his cane once again.

Ichigo immediately stopped him and turned him over himself. Then, he took the cane and slid it under the bed.

"She's not gunna like that," Urahara warned.

"She can _punish_ me later," he sneered. "She's not a part of this." He had no more words after that as he was positioning himself to find release within another once again.

Urahara, on the other hand, always had more words but his were cut off as he was impaled without any real warning. Instead, he simply started moaning and groaning but when Ichigo reached for his erection, long neglected, he had to say something. "No, don't touch me there," he slapped the hand away, "my fun will end too soon."

The orange-haired teen moved his hand back to the man's hips, "You've already had too much fun," he informed through gritted teeth as he used all his strength to burry himself over and over again. "U-Urah…" he mumbled as he came.

"Please, call me Kisuke," the blonde panted.

Somehow, Ichigo managed to flip the man beneath him over without withdrawing completely. He could finally stand to face him. "Thank you, K-K-ah…Ki-Kisu…," he whined, barely able to hold onto the other man as his eyes rolled back and he bucked even harder.

"Kisu works too…actually, I like that better." Ever since his adolescence, when Yuroichi pointed it out to him, he always like that the shortened version of his name sounded like kissy sounds.

That was it, there were no more coherent thoughts, let alone words, after that point, only cries of pleasure, pleas for more. Urahara held back as best he could but the young vizard's relentless pace forced him over the edge, dragging Ichigo into his fourth orgasm as he came, his 

erection untouched. The pressure was so great that some even splattered onto his chest and the teen was quick to lean over and lap up the bits he could get to without stopping.

The shopkeeper gave a surprised look at the way the young man hungrily lapped up the cum decorating his heated skin.

Ichigo saw the look and gave a reply that would have made the older man hard if he hadn't just had an enormous release, "I like the way you taste." It was said with such genuine and effortless affection that he was allowed to come one more time inside the blonde before he was forced to stop. Not that it required much force, simply drawing the young man into an inescapably warm embrace, preventing him from further thrusting.

"That was amazing." He kissed Ichigo on the lips for emphasis.

The teen gave a stupid smile in response before growing awkward. "More…" he barely said.

"Excuse me?" the shopkeeper asked with both disbelief and knowing.

"More," he repeated more forcefully, "I need more!" He tried to pull away so that he could continue and when he was prohibited from doing so, he balled his hand up into a fist and aimed it at the man's temple.

The blow was easily deflected. "Ichigo!" Urahara didn't really want to raise his voice but he was getting the impression it was necessary.

Ichigo froze.

"Are you really willing to resort to violence for this?" he demanded, forcing eye contact.

The teen began to shake. "You're gunna have to stop me then," he tried again and was again easily stopped.

The shopkeeper gave a sigh of exasperation before flitting to the other side of the room, leaving Ichigo with nothing to lean on.

Ichigo would have fallen on his face if he hadn't already started toward the man.

As quickly as he could, Urahara pulled a length of rope from his closet. He turned back just in time to catch the feverish young vizard, trip him, and pin him well enough to tie his wrists to his ankles.

"Oh god, no! What are you doing! Stop! This isn't funny! Stop messing around!" Ichigo panicked and tried to thrash about. His strength was beginning to wane even if his arousal was not.

Once the young man was firmly bound, he tossed him onto the bed where he continued to struggle, yell, and swear. This was no deterrent, as the blonde cleaned up his guest and then himself. Ichigo struggled but was afraid to yell too much for fear he would be gagged. It was only a few minutes later that Urahara was no longer cleaning. Instead, he was distracted by the countless marks that marred the young soul reaper's flesh.

Ichigo wanted to ask not to be scrutinized so closely but he was afraid of what would happen if he did. There was no telling what the shopkeeper would do. His breathing actually began to level out a little until the blonde's fingers traced the mark on his inner thigh. Then he tried to pull away but because of his bindings, it did no good.

"You lied to me, Kurosaki-kun," he pointed out with a mocking grin. When he didn't receive a reply, he took the teen's chin in one hand and forced eye contact.

"So?" Ichigo finally snarled.

"I don't appreciate that you know," he chided.

"I don't _appreciate_ being tied up," he shot back.

"Fair enough," the shopkeeper shrugged, letting go of the young man's face to focus his attention on the mark again.

"Besides, it's got nothing to do with you."

Urahara didn't reply to that until after he moved behind Ichigo to look at the mark on his shoulder blade. "These are both hollow bites but they aren't from the same hollow."

Then, it was Ichigo's turn to not say anything.

"But they mean the same thing, don't they?" Urahara continued, his lips only millimeters from Grimmjaw's mark. Where Shinji had mistaken that one for a fight-bite, Urahara deduced the truth.

"They don't mean anything," Ichigo finally said through gritted teeth.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" for once the older man sounded surprised.

"They told me what it meant to them…" the teen managed. His erection was throbbing madly with ever beat of his heart. "This torture, I fucking hate you!"

"I see," the shopkepper gave an impressed nod that went unappreciated. "Who were they?" he pressed, letting his curiosity and advantage over the young soul reaper get the better of his compassion.

Ichigo simply shook his head 'no'.

"If you tell me," he reached an arm around the teen's waist and threatened to touch his erection, "I'll make you come again."

The hollow raging within Ichigo responded immediately to that, "Surrender their names, now!" it ordered and became more enraged when the teen remained silent, aside from whimpers of denied pleasure.

"You'll try to force yourself on me violently but you won't tell me two little names? You do know their names, right?"

Ichigo nodded in affirmation, hoping that small truth would earn him some sort of reward, but it did not.

"Were they male or female?"

"Don't make me talk about this!" Ichigo suddenly began to struggle frantically again.

Urahara turned the young man around in his lap so as to look him in the eyes while posing his next question, "Would you like me to heal them for you?"

At that, there was an eerie moment of clarity for Ichigo. "Would you do that for me?" His voice was meek, his eyes held the slightest hint of lucidness, and he seemed to be practically holding his breath waiting for a response.

"Would you tell me who took your innocence in exchange?"

"I don't see what it matters! Isn't there anything else?" Ichigo pleaded as he wiggled helplessly in the former captain's grasp.

As much as he wanted to know who had marred his young friend, the soul reaper was quickly losing his sense of self once again. "Would you allow me to leave a mark of my own in the place of my choosing?"

"You'd really want to do that?" he mumbled, too dazed to realize that the shopkeeper had already started healing the scar on his shoulder.

"I'll admit, just this once," because he knew at this point, it was very likely the teen would not be able to remember much, if any, of what was said during their exchanges, "that there is a certain draw to leaving a small mark on a lover for them to remember you by."

"Of course I'd let you. I'd rather that to these ugly reminders," Ichigo felt himself regaining his sense bit by bit. It wasn't enough to relieve him of his 'condition' but he would take whatever he could get at this point.

Urahara didn't make the young man speak any more after that, already quite impressed with how well he was responding to his desperate situation. He didn't bother telling Ichigo that the marks on his skin weren't healing because they were infected and not with bacteria, with hollow energy. He simply used kido to clean and mend the skin to its former perfection. When he was satisfied, he crawled back round his captive. He wanted to tell the orange-haired vizard wriggling on his bed that his hollow's raietsu was most likely being augmented by the hollow energy that festered in the wounds but he needed to know for sure first.

The mark on his thigh tingled and burned as the energy was extracted. "Thank you, Kisuke…" he mumbled, his head rolling back and forth as he came.

Urahara gave the restored patch of skin a tender kiss and then, he turned to leave.

"Where are you going? Don't leave me, please!" Ichigo pleaded.

"I don't have your stamina. I need a break and I don't think I'll get one if I don't leave you alone for a few minutes. There's no need to worry, I'll return shortly," he said sweetly before retreating from view. As he suspected, the teen continued his protests but only for so long.

Seeing that Kon was finished with the bathroom, and apparently took the time to clean it up a bit, a much appreciated gesture, he ducked in there to catch his breath and clean himself up. After that, he went looking for the mod soul and was pleased to see that he didn't decide to stay. He made a mental note to 'borrow' the mod soul in order to scan his memories as he'd threatened.

He stopped a moment to listen and after hearing no fuss, he decided to clear his tea table and actually start a load of laundry before returning to the young man.

* * *

Shinji's day wasn't as active but almost as stressful. After a night of pleasingly erotic dreams he awoke to the sensation of someone rudely prodding at his cock. He gave an indignant whine and cracked an eye before nearly jumping out of his skin. Quickly, he covered his lap, more for protection than decency, "What do you want?" he glared at the short blonde girl sneering down at him.

"Oohh, Ichi!" she mocked, "Ichi! Ichi!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Don' blame me, they were just tired of listin' to ya," She motioned in the general direction of the others.

Shinji frowned. "Sorry…"

"Don't be such a bitch. You gunna go get 'em?" She asked with marked interest.

"No." he answered firmly.

"What if he finds you?"

"I don't know…" he grumbled.

"Heh, I know what that means."

"Hyori, please, don't do this right now."

She managed not to laugh at him. "No, you need to hear this. You won't be able to put up a fight. You'll just let him fuck you stupid and leave you even worse off without saying a 

fucking word," she spat. His obviously guilty speechlessness annoyed her so much that she left without so much as a backward glance.

Immediately, he rolled onto his side and started regretfully touching himself, as visions of a certain orange-haired vizard still danced (at times, quite literally) through his head. He longed to see that perfectly handsome face taut with pleasure. He desperately wanted to hear Ichigo's voice cry out for him. But more than anything he craved the intoxicating feeling of the other vizard's raietsu wilding mixing with his own.

A couple hours later, he joined his comrades for lunch. "Where's Hyori?" he asked suspiciously.

"She left just a little bit ago," Love answered as he dished up a plate for his blonde friend.

Shinji frowned.

"What?" the larger man prompted.

"Did she say where she was going?"

That was when Lisa decided to butt in, "She didn't _say_ where she was going but she did leave right after we talked about Ichigo…"

Shinji winced.

Seeing the myriad of emotions plaguing his long-time friend, Kensai decided to say something. "We talked it over and if what you said about him is true, he should be fine. As long as he doesn't come looking for you, this should all blow over without incident. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you; Hyori is probably just going to keep an eye on him. You know how she is."

"You're probably right," Shinji sighed, slightly relieved by his friend's reassurances until that friend's former lieutenant started speaking.

"What's so great about Berry-tan anyway?" Moshiro half-teased, but only because she was half-paying attention.

Shinji let his mind go back to Ichigo. Even his name was adorable. He was the only person Shinji had ever met that had as much kindness in his heart as he did strength in his soul, if not more. Of course, that wasn't something he was about to share. "He may be somewhat inexperienced but don't let him fool you. That kid knows what he's doing."

"Really?" Lisa queried with an evil glint in her eye.

"Wouldn't you like to know," the blonde sniped in as snotty a tone as he could manage.

"Perhaps I'll go find out for myself…" the spectacled woman continued to taunt and then giggled when the former captain visibly tensed.

"Knock it off, Lisa," Kensei ordered in a threatening tone.

* * *

They were just starting the dishes from lunch when Hyori finally returned. She looked much less sure of herself than when she left but at the same time, she appeared somewhat relieved.

"Well?" Lisa demanded as soon as the short-tempered young girl approached.

Hyori made sure to take in the faces of her comrades before answering. Of course, there was one in particular that she was really interested in. "Well what?" she finally replied.

"You know what," Moshiro teasingly prompted, "How's Berry-tan doing?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I went out for ice cream 'cause Love's cookin' makes me gag." She made an expression of distaste for emphasis. Hyori disliked lying to her friends like that 

but, over time, she'd come to learn that there were certain things best discussed in private, no matter how closely knit their group happened to be. However, having to wait to give her friend the update was almost more than she could bear, as she had been chomping at the bit all the way back to the warehouse.

Hyori ended up having to wait over an hour to talk to Shinji. She sat down next to him on a large boulder. They bullshitted for quite some time before Hyori broached the subject. Sure, she had been anxious to tell her friend what he so badly wanted to know, but she wanted to have a real conversation with him first. She knew it was selfish, but she didn't really care. As far as she was concerned they were all pretty selfish and he all but avoided her when he was like this. "You wanna know how that orange-haired retard is doin'?" It was as much a statement as it was a question when she finally spoke it.

He didn't look at her, he couldn't. "What do you think…" he grumbled.

"You were right; he's fine," she informed with as even a tone as possible, knowing that it was something of a double-edged sword.

Shinji gave a bitter smile, "I'm happy to hear that." As much as it was a relief to know that Ichigo wasn't going to suffer the way they had, there was a pang in his heart that he recognized as festering unrequited feelings. He could hardly admit it to himself, which made telling anyone else impossible, but there was a portion of him that wanted Ichigo to feel the way that he did and it only added to the guilt that already weighed on him.

"He's still thinking about you though," she added carefully and was rewarded when her friend's smile turned from bitter into something more genuine.

"Really?"

She gave a wicked little chuckle, "Yeah. I saw his thing move in his pants when I said your name."

"Really?" he blushed.

"Is that all you can say?"

"What did you expect?" he pushed off the rock and landed several feet away.

She was quick to join him. "You said you were gunna tell'em," she grabbed his arm and pull him around to face her.

"I reconsidered." The taller blonde jerked away.

"He should know," the shorter insisted, a little louder than she intended.

"Not if it doesn't affect him," he continued to defend.

"Well, I think it does," she had more but was cut off.

"As do I," Kensei agreed suddenly.

"K-Kensei," Shinji shifted, even more nervous than before. The sight of his previous lover disturbed him almost as much as the absences of his current infatuation.

"Back off, Hyori," the white-haired man orderd.

She stood her ground.

"You did good, now let me take it from here," he gave her a look that left no room for arguments, one that she'd learned from experience not to challenge.

"I was done with this asshole anyway," she stormed off.

When she was gone, Kensei turned to Shinji. "You _need_ to tell him."

"But what if it doesn't affect him? I don't really feel like explaining myself to him if he's not gunna understand." Shinji picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could. "Besides, Hyori said he's still thinking about me but that he's got plans with someone else. Showing up and making him worry about it will probably only make it worse, ya know?"

Kensei, though reluctant, understood his friend's point of view. "At least go check on him. He should have started to get better by now." He looked down at his watch for emphasis. It was already past the end of the school day and if the young vizard really did have plans, they should have started already.

Shinji rolled his eyes.

"You could always ask someone else to do it," he reminded in a chiding voice, "if you don't think you could keep your hands off him."

Shinji sneered.

"I don't know if you're aware, but there's no shortage of volunteers," he taunted, moving a little closer. "I even considered sitting the young man down for a nice…heart-to-heart."

"I'm sure," he turned away.

"Does that mean you'll do it?" the white-haired man quickly closed the gap between their bodies and reveled in his blonde comrade's nearly shaking form.

"This isn't fair!" Shinji whined. These things usually seemed to have the worst effects on him out of all of them and it wasn't uncommon for the others to take advantage of that.

"Hey, you're the one who went to him, right?" Kensei reminded bitterly. "Shouldn't you at least go and make sure you didn't cause any real damage?"

That was what caused Shinji to push away, a sad sort of chuckle bubbling up from him as he did. "Kensei, my dear, that 'young man' was already quite damaged when I found him."

"That doesn't give you the excuse to ignore him. We've learned to deal with you being all hot-and-cold. He barely knows you." That wasn't to say that those that he was intimately involved with didn't still suffer because of it. They just learned to accept it as they had many other things.

Shinji gave a sigh of resignation because he knew his friend was right. "It's funny that you're the one telling me this," he commented.

"Actually, they sent me over here to distract you while Lisa goes to check on your little boyfriend. You see, she won the rock-paper-scissors tournament." He closed the gaps between their bodies and nuzzled Shinji's neck. "Is it working?"


	12. Fixation

"If I could hate you right now…" Shinji felt his knees buckling as the larger vizard's energy began to surround him.

"You'd what? Come on, tell me. I wanna hear it," he taunted as he caught his friend.

Shinji whimpered and weakly tried to pull away.

The overly pathetic sound made Kensei withdraw. "If you leave right now, you'll probably beat her there," he informed with all seriousness. "But if you don't go now…"

Shinji bareley said, "thank you," before he was gone.

A moment later, Lisa approached Kensi, "What was that all about?" she had to ask, as she'd only happened upon the last bit of their exchange before watching her blonde friend race off.

"I had to get rid of him. He was _really _starting to aggravate me, ya know?" he didn't want to admit to any more unreasonable attraction than that. He was a little surprised by how his blonde friend hadn't noticed her presence but how powerful Ichigo's raietsu happened to be.

"He need some fresh air anyway after being cooped up in here all day. Come on, I'll get your mind off him." She grabbed him by the hand and he happily followed.

* * *

Shinji was outside his old comrade's shop in a matter of minutes. "Now what?" he asked himself as he stood upside down in the sky above the building. "I can't just go inside but I have to know…" He slowly lowered toward the roof. "One peek, that's it," he told himself. Luckily, one peek into Urahara's bedroom window was all the vizard need to know that even though Ichigo's energy was wilder than ever, he was getting exactly what he needed. At that point, the difficult thing became tearing his eyes away from the sight and sound of his old friend moaning whorishly for _his_ orange-haired lover. "Shit!" Shinji nearly swore at the audacity of the thought that came in passing but now echoed in his mind, his hollow, no doubt, egging him on. At that, he knew he had to keep his distance…and no more 'innocent' peeping. With a sigh of both regret and relief, he withdrew to find a hiding spot that was till with in his visual range but also somewhat out of sight. He waited there until he saw the teen exit the building.

It happened while the young vizard's raietsu was still building but not without regular release. It was odd. He seemed very relaxed, maybe a little too relaxed and his swagger didn't hold its usually intimidating air, rather it was almost bouncy. As much as he hated to, he had to go see what was amiss. "Ichigo?" he asked as he landed suddenly before the orange-haired teen.

"Who are you?" Kon blinked stupidly at the spiritual figured that appeared before him. When the blonde immediately grew displeased, the mod soul decided to elaborate. "He's still inside. I'm Kon, the mod soul that takes care of his body. Who are you?"

"Shinji Hirako," he replied shortly, obviously distracted. He was torn between going to check on the real source of the intense energy that attracted him and going back to his hiding spot.

"Actually," Kon tried to put his hand on Shinji shoulder and lead him away from the premises, "Ichigo's a little busy at the moment." He wanted so badly to say that the teen was 'tied up', as he'd taken a moment to peek into the bedroom before deciding to leave, but he knew it would be too much of a tell. "Can I take a message?" he playfully offered.

"I see. No message. Thank you." The blonde flitted away.

"I hate it when people do that! It's so rude!" he yelled, hoping that the strange man was still near enough to hear before continuing his walk home.

Shinji did go back to his original position but he didn't have to stay there for very long because suddenly, the younger vizard's energy began to change. The blonde squirmed with the urge to go see what was happening. Why had he let Kensei talk him into going to check on Ichigo? Why couldn't he have just let Lisa do it for him? It's not like she'd hurt him. Hell, it might even be good for him. Shinji laughed a little at the thought before his curiosity got the better of him and he went back to Kisuke's bedroom window to take another quick peek.

* * *

Ichigo was too desperate and too worn to scream at no one for very long. Instead, he focused his efforts on trying to free himself but to no avail. As he struggled against his bindings, he strained to listen for the shopkeeper who was apparently taking his time. He was almost to the point where he was going to start yelling again when he heard something behind him. He rolled over to see that the window was open and the person that had been haunting him for the past twenty-four hours was standing just inside.

"Shinji!?" Ichigo almost came again at the sight of the older vizard but, to his surprise, his urge to go to him was different. It was there, but it wasn't as savage. He felt more of a relief than an increased strain from seeing the other man.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Shinji demanded as he crossed the room, only tearing his eyes from the orange-haired soul reaper to look out the door and down the hall. When he did, he happened to catch sight of his former comrade with the young vizard's uniform, along with a few other things, in his arms. That was all he needed to see. Rage flared behind his eyes as he charged.

Ichigo couldn't believe his ears when he heard the clash and the sounds of a struggle.

"You fucking bastard," Shinji growled as he knocked the barely clothed shopkeeper to the ground. "How could you? You've done a lot, and I mean _a lot_, of fucked of things, but this? What gives you the right?" The idea that his former comrade would stoop as low as to bind the young man and toy with him, leaving him aroused and all alone, made his stomach turn. Under different circumstances, it might have been acceptable, maybe even fun, but not like this.

"He came to me," Urahara tried to defend as he dodged the second blow and made it another couple of steps down the hall.

Shinji's temper flared at the insinuation and he threw the shaggy blonde against the wall. He landed just outside the bedroom door.

"Stop! This is crazy!" Ichigo screamed from his prone position. He wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact that he couldn't physically go stop them or that they weren't listening to him when this was obviously about him. "Damn it! Shinji! Stop fighting for a minute!"

Shinji was not about to stop. As far as he was concerned, there was no acceptable excuse for the circumstances he entered into.

"Shinji-kun, Kurosaki-kun is speaking to you," Urahara chided as he dodged again, "perhaps you should listen to him."

Only then did the blonde vizard to pause to hear his orange-haired comrade.

"Please, stop fighting!" Ichigo continued to plead.

At that, Shinji was taken aback. "What? Look at you! Why shouldn't I kick his ass?"

The teen realized then how terrible the situation appeared and, to Urahara's credit, Shinji had assumed the worst. Instead of trying to explain himself, he tried a different tactic, "Untie me instead!"

Shinji saw nothing wrong with that and quickly made his way back into the bedroom, "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that," he apologized. Actually, the sight of the substitute soul reaper bound up like that did something to him that he was trying to ignore.

"Are you sure you want to do that? He's gotten rather violent," Urahara informed when he was no longer immediate danger.

"He's violent because of what you've done to him!" Shinji defended, not ceasing in his untying efforts. "You wanna help me kick his ass?"

Once Ichigo's limbs were free, he took hold of the blonde now on the bed with him. "Please, no ass kicking," Ichigo mumbled into Shinji's shirt. "I asked for this."

"You asked him to tie you up and leave you here?" the blonde asked in disbelief.

"Well, no, not exactly that…just don't fight anymore, okay?" he pleaded, unconsciously gripping even more tightly. He could feel himself approaching another release simply from that physical contact. The teen was just about to lean upward and touch his lips to those of the blonde in his arms when the one just outside the door cleared his throat.

"Ichigo, what's going on?" Shinji asked in a pleading voice. He wanted to trust the intentions of his long-time comrade but he knew better.

"I asked him to show me…" was all Ichigo could manage before the slight rubbing of his erection on the blonde's clothes made him cum, unwittingly bringing the one in his arms closer to release as well.

"He'll just spill himself all over anything, won't he?" Urahara taunted from the doorway.

Shinji wanted to reply to that but, to his surprise, Ichigo found his comeback first, "Not just anything…" he looked up into the blonde vizard's eyes and the intense eye contact made it nearly happen again.

"Show you what, Ichigo?" the older vizard asked suspiciously.

"What you refused to," was all Ichigo could manage. He buried his face in Shinji's hair and held him tight.

"I'm not sure who I'm more pissed off at now," the vizard, who was now being undressed, informed.

"I can't deny him when he asks so nicely. He did it for you. You know that, right? Though, he didn't bother to mention that he asked you to do it first. If I'd known that you already refused, I defiantly would have _considered_ turning him away," Urahara explained.

"But he probably would have been fine if you hadn't pushed him like this! He would've just fucked and gotten it over with," Shinji argued.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Ichigo demanded. "And stop talking about me like I'm diseased."

"Not diseased…" Shinji cringed, "more like…an addict."

"What did you say?" the orange-haired teen suddenly stopped.

Due to his old friend's lack of elequance, Urahara decided to say something, "All that extra raitsu created during this time, Kurosaki-kun, where do you think it goes?"

"What are you saying?" Ichigo could barely tear his eyes from the blonde beneath him to look at the one in the doorway.

"Most of it is absorbed and mixed with that of your partner, creating a most intoxicating effect," the shopkeeper continued to elaborate.

"It took us a while to figure it out, but that's what happens when two of us make a regular thing of messing around when we're like this," Shinji explained.

"Why didn't you say anything about it sooner? I've been freaking out about it," Ichigo growled as he nipped at one of Shinji's nipples when it became exposed to him.

"I was hoping that because you handle yourself so well, you wouldn't have to worry about it. I wasn't going to push your luck so I've actually been avoiding you. And I really think that if you hadn't let _him_ torment you, it wouldn't have been a problem," he continued, his tone bitter and scathing but was obviously unable to physically protest.

"For him," Urahara finished.

"What?" Ichigo barely caught the shopkeeper's two words.

"He's saying that it shouldn't have been a problem for you because of your humanity. He still feels it."

"This isn't about what I feel," Shinji was quick to argue. "I've had time to learn to deal with it."

"If it makes you feel any better, I highly doubt _this_ young man feels the addiction you are referring to. Perhaps some of the draw, as he has apparently been thinking about you quite a lot today, but it's more like a craving than an outright addiction."

"Don't lie to me!" the blonde vizard argued through gritted teeth. "The only reason I came looking for him was because his raietsu was so out of control for so long." He had actually been pleased when Hyori informed him that Ichigo already had someone else in mind. Sure, there was a pang of jealousy, but he knew it was for the best. This didn't stop him from spending the majority of his day sitting in one place and sensing and tracking the younger vizard's energy. He even breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Ichigo's afternoon release, but it didn't last. In fact, it only escalated from there. At first, he told himself that he was only going to check on the young man, that he wouldn't interfere because it would only make things worse for both of them, and if his suspicions were true, it would cause the young man undue grief.

Shinji's breath was becoming short and Ichigo, though he wanted desperately to listen to what they were saying, was now too lost in exposing and exploring the fair body before him. His ears were ringing with pent-up desires.

"_Was_ out of control?" Urahara repeated.

Shinji blinked stupidly for a moment. His brain and body were becoming too overloaded with the effect the young man was having on him to think much about his young friend anymore.

"You mean…"Shinji gasped.

Urahara nodded as he slowly approached his bed. If they had been anywhere else in his house like that he would have resisted. However, this most recent development had him almost totally hard again and if they were going to fuck on his bed, he would be damned if he didn't join them. "This handsome young man is behaving the way he is now mostly because of how much he let me tease him." He was at least willing to admit that he had been teasing Ichigo and that it was a matter of how long the teen allowed it to go on. "And because he's still a little…ahem," he added as he knelt on the bed behind the orange-haired vizard. He made sure to lightly stroke the teen's erection.

When Ichigo whined at the attention, Shinji gave a sigh.

"What?"

"I'm just glad…that you don't have to deal with it, that's all," he evaded.

"But you still do…don't you?" Ichigo barely spoke.

"Please, don't worry about me," he tried to kiss the orange-haired vizard but quickly found that was the worst thing for him to say.

Ichigo suddenly found himself pinning his blonde comrade into the mattress. "Kisuke, can he stay?" he asked trough gritted teeth.

"You're asking _him_?" Shinji shot back incredulously.

"You might be nicer to me but he's more honest with me," Ichigo defended. "Well?" he asked impatiently over his shoulder.

"I'd say yes, but I can't say for sure. You'd have to ask him," Urahara prompted as he began massaging the teen's tight opening.

Ichigo gave the man beneath him an expecting look.

"I'll be alright; don't send me away," Shinji nearly pleaded, feeling more than slightly self-defeated after how well he'd done up until he started untying the object of his affection and so much more. He even found himself praying that he would be allowed to stay, something he never did.

That was it, he couldn't take it anymore. With the person he'd been lusting after for the better part of a day pinned beneath him and another nearly penetrating him, he just gave in to the pleasure and would get angry later if it was necessary.

The next thing Shinji knew, Ichigo was kissing him and spreading his legs. "I better not regret this later," was the warning he received, in an all too husky voice, followed by a deep moan.

"Nnngh…fuck," Ichigo swore through gritted teeth, "Ya coulda warned me first," he half complained as Urahara withdrew from his first thrust.

"I thought I told you," Urahara gave a dark chuckle, "I give as good as I get." This time he slowed his thrust and paused once he was buried inside to wipe the remaining lube on his hand on Ichigo's member. Then, he went back to what he was doing, what he'd been wanting to do for quite some time now, banging that headstrong, obstinate, ornery strawberry as hard and for as long as he possibly could.

Before Ichigo could reply, act, or even think, Shinji grabbed him and guided him inside, a deep groan of his own accompanying the motion. After that, the young vizard was lost in heat and friction, bucking back and forth with as much conviction as his tired, worn body could manage. It felt too hot, too good to be real. There was even a moment when he found himself agreeing with his hollow, "Damn the consequences!" and when he came, he could feel both sets on hands on his body gripping him tightly.

Shinji looked up into his friend's face as it happened and almost came himself at the sight. He wasn't sure how he managed to hold back but he knew that a few more like it and he would lose himself. As he gazed upward, he couldn't help noticing his older friend's face as well, taught with pleasure and impending release.

"Nnngh, you didn't tell me he was so tight," Urahara teased to keep himself from coming too soon.

Ichigo growled at the way the man was speaking as though he wasn't there but instead of arguing, he pushed back a little harder, knowingly making it more difficult for the older man to hold out.

Shinji just laughed a little at the exchange but didn't reply because he felt another peak coming from the one between them.

"Holy shit," Ichigo cursed under his breath when it happened. He could feel his limbs beginning to fail him but he wanted more, just one more…

Urahara could feel Ichigo starting to lose steam and that made him pound even harder. By the way that Ichigo reacted to him and, on top of that, the way Shinji reacted in turn, he was glad it did. For a moment, it was almost as though he was screwing them both at the same time.

Ichigo moaned, rather weakly, when he came again, for what he thought would be the last time, and pulled his two partners into orgasmic release with him. The feeling of the other two coming because of him made it happen one more time before Ichigo knew it was over.

The three collapsed into a pile and quickly passed out from exhaustion in a position strangely similar to the one they were just in but much less animated. Shinji and Ichigo genuinely passed out. Urahara allowed himself to be pulled into sleep with the vizard pair because it felt too good to pull away.

* * *

I'm still working on the resolution so, as always, any comments, suggestions, or ideas in general are welcome!


	13. The morning after

thanks to all those who fed the fire. please keep me updated as to what's good and what just doesn't work.

* * *

Urahara was the first to wake and with a shiver. Apparently, Shinji hadn't bothered to shut the window after sneaking in. He shook his head as he stood to stop the slight breeze that had awoken him. Things had not gone as planned but they were rather revealing and seemed to work themselves out. When he had finally gotten the opportunity to talk to Shinji about the young man, the blonde vizard was quick to point out that he would be nowhere near Ichigo when his condition began to manifest. He even went as far as to say that he _knew _better and was _insulted_ by the insinuation. The shopkeeper almost actually believed it until he talked to Yuroichi later that day and found out that their old comrade wasn't being as forthright as he implied. No matter, that just led Ichigo right back into the candy store and into Urahara Kisuke's bedroom.

He gave a heavy sigh as he covered up the pair and went to the kitchen. He knew he was going to end up asking Shinji what brought him to Ichigo in spite of being so adamant about avoiding him. Actually, he was glad that Shinji decided not to say anything about the strange addiction that accompanied the occasional condition as he too hoped that Ichigo's humanity would save him from that torment. In all this, he found that Shinji was right about at least one thing. Making Ichigo worry about the possibility of becoming addicted to the raietsu of his more spiritual lovers was not the solution to the problem.

After putting a few things away and grabbing himself a glass of water, Urahara returned to his bedroom to check on his guests. They were still sleeping soundly and were now snuggled in his blankets. He savored that moment for a few minutes before going to his tea room and sitting down with a good book. It was rare that his home was this quiet and since he wasn't tired, he wanted to take advantage of it.

* * *

To Urahara's surprise, and slight disappointment, Ichigo was the next to emerge from the bed and only because he had to use the bathroom so very badly. Much to his pleasure, when he looked into the mirror, he saw only his own reflection. He closed his eyes and was even more pleased to find that the voice within him was silent. Quickly, he made his way back to the bedroom but was stopped along the way.

"Ah, you're awake," the shaggy blonde greeted as the nude orange-haired teen tried to sneak by.

"Good morning, Urah-er…Kis-ummm…" after all the name calling and switching, he wasn't sure what to call the older man.

Urahara chuckled, "Good morning. Would you mind having a seat with me for a moment? I'd like to talk to you."

The teen appeared pensive as he glanced down the hall as though he expected to hear something. It was obvious that he wanted to get back before the other woke.

"Actually, it's about Shinji-san."

That was all he needed to say. There were many questions left by their encounter the night before and if Urahara wanted to talk about it, he was going to listen, especially since Shinji didn't seem inclined to elaborate. "What's up?" When he sat down, Urahara tossed him his boxers, which happened to be clean.

"Your relationship with Shinji has changed," he informed as the young man slipped into the garment.

"I realized that," he replied dryly. "What about it?"

"Well, it seems he was correct in assuming that you won't suffer from the raietsu addiction that the others do. However, your raietsu is very strong and apparently has quite an effect on our friend."

"Just tell me what that means," Ichigo was still anxious to return to the other vizard before he began to stir.

"It means you two can't screw around again for quite some time," he informed firmly.

Ichigo laughed a little at that.

"What's so funny?" the older man sounded a little irked.

"It sounds like you're asking me to avoid him but he's the one who keeps coming to me…not that I mind."

"I'm asking you to help him," he tried a more gentle approach, though avoiding the blonde vizard altogether had been his primary suggestion.

"What do I need to do?"

"Well, nothing really. You just need to know that with every encounter you have with him, his desire for your energy will grow stronger."

Ichigo frowned deeply. "So I'm just supposed to turn him away?"

"Unless you want things to get out of hand."

Ichigo wanted to know what 'out of hand' meant but he decided not to ask. "I wish _someone_ would have said something to me about all this before," he griped.

"I'm sorry," a small voice interjected from just outside the doorway.

Ichigo jumped at the sound of Shinji's voice and then silently cursed himself for not making it back in time.

"You have no reason to be sorry," Urahara soothed; "please, sit with us," he motioned.

Shinji sat across from Ichigo, "I was supposed to tell you…but I didn't."

Ichigo shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I know now, right?"

"But…" Shinji tried to protest but was interrupted.

"I wouldn't wanna tell anybody either," Ichigo continued, remembering how difficult it was just to tell Kon what little he did.

Shinji gave a sigh of relief and defeat. "Thanks."

"But you can tell me now…" the orange-haired teen prompted hopefully.

Shinji appeared pensive.

"I'll go make some tea," Urahara decided, since he already knew everything that Shinji would tell their young friend.

"You and your damn tea!" Ichigo half-joked. "Do you ever do anything but sip tea?"

"You know I do a lot of things. I just enjoy my tea, that's all. Besides, I though you _liked_ sipping tea with me. You didn't seem to mind yesterday."

The shopkeeper's last statements caused Shinji to pause and give his old comrade a suspicious look.

"What?" the shaggy blonde asked innocently.

"Go make tea," Shinji ordered.

* * *

"Okay…where to begin?" Shinji asked sarcastically, now almost totally incapable of maintaining eye contact and he could tell it was really irritating his friend. "If I start telling you something you already know, please tell me." He shifted nervously as he gathered his thoughts.

"Look," Ichigo gave a sigh of exhasperation, "if you _really_ don't wanna tell me, then don't."

"Don't me that way. You don't," he had more but the younger vizard finished it for him.

"understand?" Ichigo laughed. "That's what all this was about though. I _wanted_ to understand you better and you kept shutting me out. What was I supposed to do?"

Shinji frowned deeply; it was almost a scowl. "No, you look…!" he shot back but quickly lost steam, slouching even further in his seat. "Never mind." He rolled his eyes. "We all have our limits. In a way, it's similar to how long it took each of us to overpower and take control of the hollow within us," he reluctantly began, "but it has less to do with overcoming your hollow and more to do with your personal character…apparently being human helps too." He almost sounded bitter about that.

"What does that mean for us?" Ichigo asked with bated breath.

"Us?" Shinji breathed a sigh of relief at not having been the first to mention the incredibly conspicuous pronoun. "Well…I was unaware that there was an 'us'…" he carefully began and quickly realized that he was not careful enough or perhaps he was too careful. With Ichigo it was difficult to tell sometimes but when the teen gave a displeased grunt and turned away he knew it wasn't quite the right thing to say. "Gimme a break. I'm tryin' here," he griped. "I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think there can be an 'us' and honestly, you can blame me if it upsets you that much and you need someone to take it out on," he babbled. "I really didn't expect you to take this so seriously," he admitted.

Ichigo frowned deeply at that, distinctly remembering Urahara saying something strikingly similar. "Why's that?" he asked bitterly.

"Because it's easier for me that way," Shinji replied, finding that his words came much more easily if he didn't think about them first.

"K…but seriously," Ichigo shifted uncomfortably at the sudden honesty.

"I am being serious. In fact, I am being much more serious than I expected," it was as close as he was going to get to admit that he'd started to fall for the younger vizard. "But that's not what you're asking…is it?" He took a deep breath. "We probably shouldn't see each other for a while."

"I figured…" Ichigo grumbled.

"Are you disappointed?" Shinji asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

The teen shifted and made reluctant eye contact. He didn't want to say it either. "Will you let me know when it's okay again?" he asked after a moment.

Shinji's winning smile returned once again, "Of course…" he leaned forward and kissed Ichigo on the cheek.

It was the sweetest gesture that the older vizard had ever offered and it made Ichigo blush a deep red just in time for the shopkeeper to return with a tea tray. Shinji giggled a little at the young man's embarrassment but Urahara didn't say anything about it. He knew better than to test a relationship so obviously fragile. Instead, he decided to enjoy their moment with them.

To Ichigo's surprise, it wasn't just tea. The shaggy blonde also provided toast, pastries, and jam. To no one's surprise, the teen was voracious and that alone seemed to lighten the mood. "So, Shinji," Ichigo turned to the other vizard, a strange little smirk in his face, "Your hair, it used to be longer?" he asked knowingly.

The question caught the other man off guard and he gave his old comrade an impetuous look. "Yeah. Why?"

Ichigo shrugged, trying to appear as though he didn't really care, "Why'd ya cut it?" he asked between bites.

Shinji didn't look very amused but the lighter turn in the conversation wasn't something he was going to argue about. "'Cause when you're on the run, it's more hassle than it's worth," he admitted.

At that Ichigo backed off, finally realizing that it was something of a sore issue for his friend.

"Ichi-kun, don't you have school today?" Shinji asked knowingly in return.

Ichigo looked at the clock. It was well past the first bell. "Damn it," he cursed but then thought for a moment, "Oh well. Teacher probably doesn't want me there today anyway," he laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shinji couldn't help asking.

"I was so distracted yesterday that I got sent home for being ill," he elaborated and earned a good laugh from his friend. Hearing that laughter, Ichigo thought, made the embarrassment that the incident had caused worth it.

* * *

Ichigo was the first to leave the shop which also meant leaving Shinji with Kisuke.

"So you finally talked to him about it," Kisuke began casually.

"I still can't believe you did that," Shinji griped.

"You are too quick to judge. As I said, he came to me. He was the instigator. I was simply the facilitator." the shopkeeper continued.

"And I don't believe for a second that whether or not I told him no would have any bearing on what you decided to do."

"Are you really angry about this?" Kisuke needed to know.

"I'm not sure."

"He's actually better off now than he was when he got here," the man in green boasted.

"What makes you so sure"?"

"I tied him up so that I could heal those nasty hollow bites. That's the real reason he was so aggravated."

"He was aggravated because you teased him," Shinji defended.

"Though he may be reluctant to admit it, he thought that part was fun _and_ he appreciated my healing kido," Kisuke continued bragging. When his old friend frowned deeply at that, he spoke again, "I thought you said you weren't the jealous type. If that's the case, all you'd have to do was say something and you know I'd back off right away."

Shinji knew, from experience, that at least the last part of that was true. "I'm not jealous but I went through a lot of shit because of this and, if nothing else, I was hoping to save Ichigo from that."

"A regular knight in shining armour you are then," Kisuke teased.

"Fuck you," he grumbled before changing the subject. "So, that tea he was referring to, is the blend I'm thinking of?" he asked suspiciously.

Kisuke briefly considered feigning innocents but he knew that at this point it would be more rewarding to be honest. "Similar. I made a special blend for him. I needed something that would react to, but without further aggravating, his hollow energy as well as a flavorful aphrodisiac."

Shinji shook his head both in amusement and disgust. "I don't think that was necessary."

"I didn't want to waste my time healing anything that wasn't infected. Actually, it had the most unusual side effect," the shaggy blonde dawdled.

"Oh?" Shinji was afraid to ask more than that.

"Yes. Apparently, while the ingredients that react to hollow raietsu adhered to his soul form, the aphrodisiac stayed in his human body."

"So?" Sure, that might have been unexpected but it wasn't really that interesting.

"Well, the mod soul that I created for him…well, he sort of entertained Ichigo for me for quite some time."

Shinji blinked in disbelief. "That's brilliant…I wish we could do that."

Kisuke laughed. "I thought the same thing and then they shut the bathroom door in my face."

That made Shinji laugh as well. It certainly explained why the mod soul had such a spring in his step earlier.

The rest of the morning, neither of them talked about anything of any real importance. That is, right up until Shinji was about to leave. "Kisuke…" he began, his voice only barely audible.

"Hm?" the shaggy blonde prompted with equal quietness as he raised the brim of his hat with his fan.

"I…I'd like to see you next time I-I," he couldn't seem to break eye contact.

The shopkeeper took his old comrade by the hand and pulled him into an intimate embrace, "Do we have to wait until then?" For that, he earned a genuine smile.

"When does everybody get back?" Shinji suddenly asked.

"Tonight. Tessai told me they'd be back in time for dinner…which makes me think I'm supposed to make dinner…" he suddenly became sidetracked by the obligation.

"Perfect," Shinji led him back inside.

"You know, I think I'd like you to dress up for the encounter you were referring to," Kisuke began his suggestions.

Shinji cocked an eyebrow. "That's never really been your thing. Why the change of heart?" The more scientific former captain had always stuck to the idea that no matter what someone wore, they were the same person when they took their clothes off and that was the person he would be attracted to.

"Are you saying you don't mind?" the shopkeeper nearly growled in his friend's ear.

"It's something I'd consider…if properly coaxed," he offered. The lecherous grin he got in response made him add, "as long as it isn't too humiliating."

Kisuke gave a dark chuckle, unwittingly bringing goosebumps to crawl in a wave down Shinji's back. The thinner blonde gave a light moan as he pulled their bodies together and then onto the bed.

"You want to do terrible things to me…" Shinji whispered into his friend's ear.

"Oh? Why would a kind man like me want to be terrible to you?" Kisuke was already set on undressing them.

"I deserve it…" he barely managed the three words.

"Have you been naughty?" Kisuke asked knowingly, and hopefully, as he summoned his sword from under the bed.

"Don't give me clichés," Shinji complained as he finished undressing them.

"Okay," Kisuke replied shortly as he flipped the thinner blonde onto his hands and knees, "then I'll just ask you. Do you really feel guilty about what happened yesterday…or are we playing now?" As soon as the question was asked, he started spanking his friend with this cane.

Shinji wanted to answer but couldn't. Instead came moans and little cries with every stroke. Only when the slight beating stopped could he speak. "I'd feel guilty if it hadn't worked out as well as it did. I deserve this because I was a fool," he admitted into the bed sheets.

"We're all a little foolish sometimes," Kisuke added with another spank followed by a gentle kiss on the abused flesh. "I wouldn't have let you stay if it would have been a problem, you know that."

"Aah…" he moaned and then laughed a little. "It would have been fine if I hadn't gotten talked into checking on him," now he was admitting to more than he really cared to but he knew the other's hand was only centimeters from his cock. "It's not like I could've helped him if he needed it."

"Would you let me tie you up for our little date?" Kisuke suddenly asked when he started stroking.

"That sounds more like the Kisu I know," Shinji half-teased.

"I suppose I wouldn't have to ask you to dress up for me then. If you were incapacitated, I could just dress you up however I pleased," the shaggy blonde continued, letting his cane fall to one side while one hand held his friend in place and the other continued providing manual pleasure.

"Ah-ah, Kisu, stop!"

As soon as the word was spoken, Kisuke stopped his motions. He reveled in the willing helplessness of his friend.

Shinji's chest heaved. He had nearly come from just those small attentions. "Just fuck me already!" he breathlessly demanded, snatching the mostly used bottle of lube off the nightstand.

Kisuke mock pouted. "What's the rush?"

"Why are you stalling?" Shinji countered.

"What if I want to enjoy you for a little while? Is that so wrong?"

Shinji was thrown off guard by that. He had been expecting a quickie. "Well…I…" he wasn't sure what to say.

"Or are you too excited for that right now?" he asked knowingly as he slowly slid a single lubricated digit in and out. If he wasn't already used to the way that Shinji reacted to him when they were together like this, he would have been taken aback by the way his former comrade rode his fingers and moaned whorishly all the while. Actually, it had taken a bit of getting used to. At first, Kisuke considered Shinji too aggressive and too forward. The shopkeeper much preferred innuendo and subtlety. Now, it seems almost needless to say, he very much appreciated his old comrade's openness. Such honesty, especially in the bedroom, was almost unheard of and definitely something he would take advantage of.

When the shaggy blonde added a third finger and began prodding his already swollen prostate, he almost came again but the chuckle his friend let out helped pull him back. "What's so god damn funny?" Usually, he liked it when his lovers appreciated his wonton behavior but there was something behind that chuckle that he didn't like the sound of.

"I don't even need to prepare you. It seems your body is as ready as it is willing."

That was it. Kisuke was disappointed. "I highly doubt you're much different…what with the way he rode you last night," he countered.

"You were spying on us?" the man on top try to sound betrayed but he was still too amused. "That is naughty." Then he gave a sigh. "Ah, well, I guess it can't be helped." He removed his fingers and positioned himself at the vizard's entrance.

That was the opening Shinji had been waiting for. He pushed back as hard as he could, impaling himself with one swift thrust. The pleasure was so sudden and so intense that it sent them toppling over. Shinji laughed and simply finished the motion by rolling them over the rest of the way.

Kisuke suddenly found himself on his back with his former comrade sliding up and down his cock. However, it didn't take him long to find his bearings and he grabbed Shinji's hips, helping support and guide his movements. When he did, the lithe blonde looked over his shoulder at his friend and smiled. "I missed being with you."

"Oh?" the man now on the bottom barely managed when he realized that he couldn't tear his eyes away from his cock repeatedly disappearing and reappearing.

"Yeah. With you…I've never thought twice about doing whatever I want when I'm with you. We might play games, but you can always see right though it."

"If Ichigo knew that you were holding back like that, he would be very angry with you," Kisuke chided.

"He's not gunna find out for quite a while though, is he?" the blonde on top topped off his persuasion by riding his friend even harder.

"Turn around." Watching that perfect ass rise and fall had been hypnotic but he wanted to see that face taught with pleasure for him.

Shinji whined and did as he was told.

"You have a beautiful voice," Kisuke awed as he reached up and toyed with the pert little nipples that poked out at him. He was rewarded with another cute little whine. It made him more aggressive. This time he pinched and gave a little twist.

"Aaah!" Shinji jerked forward, "Fuck yeah!" He caught himself by placing his hands on either side of his partner's head. His back arched forward and he tried to push his hips back when his other nipple received similar attentions.

That reaction and Kisuke couldn't hold back anymore. Without a word, his hands move back down Shinji's body, one to his hip and the other to his neglected erection. The vizard moaned and closed the gap between their lips. The kiss deepened as they came, making even more of a mess of the shopkeeper's bed.

Shinji gasped for air as he dismounted, allowing himself to roll to the side. "I meant it."

"Which part?" Kisuke caught his breath.

"All of it…but especially the part about missing being with you."

"Why are you being so sentimental?"

"I'm not being sentimental."

"What is it then?" Kisuke rolled onto his side so he could face his partner and while he waited for his answer, he brushed a few of the stray hairs away from his face.

"I'm up for anything as long as you don't hassle me about my relationship with Ichigo."

"One question and it's a deal."

"What's that?" Shinji gave an exasperated sigh.

"Do you really care about him?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Shinji reluctantly admitted and gave a sigh. Just that little bit made him feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Kisuke smiled and kissed his friend on the forehead.

"I didn't think it would happen so easily. He's too likable," he griped.

"And he has zero control of his raietsu," the shaggy blonde reminded while getting up on to his hands and knees above his guest.

"I know…it's a bad combination." Shinji felt pinned even though they weren't actually touching anymore.

"Especially for you. Can you still feel him now?"

"You said you only had one more question," he complained, still feeling pinned and now he knew it was his friend's energy.

"I lied. I do that sometimes ya know. Wanna answer me anyway?" he leaned down so that their noses were only millimeters apart.

"Of course I can. Don't tell me you can't. Anybody with even the slightest spiritual awareness could tell you where he lives."

"That may be true, but I actually have to think about it." He increased his spiritual pressure around the man beneath him.

Shinji let his eyes slide shut and he relaxed. This man was one of the few who was willing and able to help him keep his mind off the reckless young soul reaper. However, he knew it was an effort with a dual purpose. Sure, it helped wean him from the other vizard's energy but it didn't quell the addiction as much as it was transferred. Fortunately, it was transferred to someone with much more control of their own raietsu.


	14. It's a date

"My next episode…" Shinji began carefully as he was getting ready to leave, for real this time, "Look, I don't really care what we do. You know what I like; I know what you like. I don't wanna screw around like that, k?"

"Yes, of course. Anything else?" Kisuke feigned impatience.

"Yesterday…no, these last few months, have reminded me that I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to these things. Please, don't let me make any bad decisions this time."

"I would never dream of it. You _know_ I'll take excellent care of you," now he sounded chiding.

* * *

Months passed before Shinji's next episode hit, giving him more time to recover and deal with his emotions in a semi-rational state. It also gave Kisuke more than ample time to make plans.

Then, one fateful Wednesday at 5 AM, Urahara Kisuke took a stroll over to the vizard's 'secret' warehouse. As he meandered in the door, he looked around. No one was upstairs. So, he went straight for the hatch in the floor and down the ramp.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Moshiro suddenly appeared with Kensai not far behind.

"I'm not sure if that's any of your business," he told the green-haired vizard before turning to her former captain, knowing he would get a serious response from him, "Is Hakuro-san here?"

"Yeah, he just got up," Kensai led them in the direction he just motioned. "So, what _are_ you doing here?" He had been wondering the same thing since the shopkeeper never just stopped by for a visit. He was always there for a reason.

"I have a date," he smiled until he saw the look on the white-haired man's face. A quick conversation later and Kisuke learned that Kensai was Shinji's lover before Ichigo, that the blonde vizard had cut short their relationship to take advantage of the younger man, and on top of all that, Kensai was extremely displeased with how Shinji handled Ichigo. He was especially irked by the part about keeping him in the dark about the addiction even if he wasn't affected the same way the rest of them were. As far as he was concerned, Ichigo should have known about the way Shinji, or any of the others, would have reacted to him beforehand if possible. He was one of the few that got outvoted when they first met Ichigo and it was suggested that they tell him about the condition before anything happened.

"But it's too late for that now," the white-haired man shrugged. "He's right over there," he motioned to a boulder where his comrade was perched eating a bowl of cereal.

"Thank you," Kisuke gave a sincere nod and went to him.

* * *

"If I'd known you were coming, I'd've poured another bowl," Shinji said dryly as his friend walked up behind him.

"No need. I made sure to have breakfast before I came. Is there anything you need to do before I whisk you away," Kisuke playfully teased but Shinji appeared unamused. "Come on," he motioned.

Shinji hesitated.

"Well?" Kisuke asked impatiently.

"Well what?" Shinji replied with equal impatience.

"Your episode, it has started hasn't it? Or am I mistaken?"

Shinji gave a reluctant sigh. "No, you're right."

"Then am I to infer from your attitude that you've changed your mind about our arrangement?"

"Don't fuckin' rush me. Let a man finish his cereal," Shinji brought the bowl, now only containing sugary milk, to his lips.

Kisuke smiled mischievously at having gotten under his friend's skin so easily. "My apologies. May I sit with you then?"

Shinji moved over a few inches to signal his willingness to at least share space with the other man.

"Here," once the man in the hat and clogs sat down, he pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket and handed to the other.

The blonde took it and examined it carefully. It looked like a tootsie roll. "What's this?" he asked with exasperation.

"I'm drugging you," Kisuke replied evenly, making sure to maintain eye contact.

"When you drug someone, you're not supposed to tell them," Shinji advised, still examining the candy but no closer to eating it. "What's it do?"

"Let's just say it will make you more agreeable," he carefully phrased.

"A rooffie? You can't be serious," he tried to hand it back.

"It's hardly a date-rape drug. You said you didn't want to make any more poor decisions," Kisuke broke eye contact for a moment to glance at Kensei, "It won't knock you out or anything."

He still appeared unconvinced but the brief glance at his jilted lover brought him closer.

"You'll be just as aware but you'll actually listen to me. You do have quite the defiant streak, you know."

Shinji gave another heavy sigh. "Do you really think this is necessary?" he asked incredulously.

"Necessary, no. Helpful, yes, definitely."

Knowing that it couldn't be worse than a lot of the other things he'd been through, he popped the candy into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed before washing it down with the rest of his milk. Then he stood. "Hey, Hyori!" he called and when the small vizard turned to see why she was being yelled at, he threw the spoon at her, hitting her in the head.

"Damnit! What the hell was that?" she began to rage.

Then he tossed her the bowl like a Frisbee, forcing her to catch it or risk breaking it, "I'm goin' out." Then he looked at Kisuke, nodded toward the door, and they left.

When they were about half way up the ramp, Shinji turned to his old comrade, "How agreeable are we talkin' here?" he finally asked.

"Don't worry about that," Kisuke dismissed.

"Okay…"

* * *

When they arrived at the shop, tidy and quiet, he led his friend inside. "Now, go into my room and get your toys, anything you want, okay? Everything should be in the closet," Kisuke instructed.

Shinji smiled at the mention of the toys and did as he was told. He returned a few minutes later, he took longer than expected, with a familiar-looking back

One look in the bag and the shopkeeper smiled. "And you said I was jaded where the boy could hear…if he could see what's in here now…" he teased.

"That's different," Shinji replied simply.

"I suppose it is. Here," he slid a stack of clothes across the table.

"What's this?" the vizard asked incredulously as he examined.

"Just something I thought would look good on you," Kisuke replied nonchalantly but couldn't hide his smile when things started becoming unfolded.

Shinji didn't react to the dress shirt. It was a little tighter than he would normally wear but nothing special. The socks weren't any different. Then, the kicker, a knee-length pleated skirt. "You want me to wear a dress?" he asked in disbelief. If playing dress-up wasn't his old comrade's fancy, then cross-dressing certainly didn't register.

"Actually, it's a skirt and I'd like for you to at least to try it on."

Shinji appeared reluctant and uneasy by the idea. "If you wanna girl, you should just go fuck a girl," he said bitterly.

Kisuke made a tisk-tisk sound, "Come now, I'm not trying to feminize you. If I were, there would be no doubt. I just happen to think you'd look good in it. Honestly, I didn't think you were that narrow-minded."

Shinji hesitated again.

"Please, try the skirt on. You know it won't stay on for too long anyway." Then, he started to crawl, with a somewhat predatory air, toward his guest.

"Fine," Shinji finally agreed when he found deft fingers already working to undress him.

"Thank you," Kisuke smiled sweetly as he continued the undressing. Once his friend was totally naked, while he was still very clothed, he pushed the vizard down.

"I thought…" he started but decided to stop for several reasons. The first reason was that he wasn't going to argue with postponing putting on a skirt but after that, the reason became a hot mouth kissing and licking his chest. Then, his words trailed off into wanton moans.

Kisuke looked up at his friend's face when he started prodding at his opening to find that the vizard wincing slightly. "What's the matter?"

"N-nothing…" Sure the rough attention stung a little but pain he could deal with. Denial was a totally different story.

The man who was still clothed gave his guest a suspicious look and let up.

"Don't fucking tease me," he warned, wishing he could produce the scathing tones he was usually capable of.

"You're not going to leave," Kisuke told him evenly and then allowed a moment for the 'suggestion' to set in. "Now, do you really want me to try to break you or are you just impatient?" he repeated.

"I-No one's been inside me since we were together," he admitted more easily than he expected. "And stop talking to me like that."

"You didn't have to do that. I know how much you like," he had more but was cut off.

"I did it because I wanted to…it's better that way…for both of us," Shinji insisted.

Kisuke awed for a moment before going down on his friend.

Shinji threw his head back so violently that when it made contact with the wall he'd somehow gotten pinned against that he saw stars. The sudden disorientation caused him to lose himself in his friend's mouth with a weak and rather pathetic groan. The blonde on his knees chuckled at that, something that, under normal circumstances, would have unnerved Shinji to no end. However, the sweet vibrations that the slight laughter caused around his cock made his vision blur and it wasn't long after that before he was coming again.

After his third, or was it the fourth?, orgasm, the man in his lap withdrew. He wiped his swollen lips on his sleeve and looked up at Shinji in such a way that made him so anxious that it bordered on uneasy. Kisuke smiled and brought the tips of his index and middle fingers of his right hand to the vizard's parted lips.

In spite of the haze, Shinji reacted quickly, much more quickly than expected. The man pinning him should have expected some sort of move. He knew Shinji could only sit by for so long before making a bold move. He leaned forward and snapped at the waiting digits. Not hard enough to hurt very much, but enough to keep them there. Then he brought his hand up to catch Kisuke's wrist. With the fingers firmly secured between his teeth, he teased the exposed bits of flesh with his tongue.

"A little early in the day for biting, don't you think?" Kisuke nearly growled, using his free hand to fondle the vizard's balls in the hopes that it would be enough of a distraction to get his fingers back. "I always considered that more of an afternoon or evening activity."

Shinji did actually growl but eventually relented and only after biting down hard enough to actually hurt his friend.

"I see." The shopkeeper took the other man by the hair and pulled him to his hands and knees before pressing his face into the floor. Then, without another word, he pulled the goody bag over and started rummaging through it. He gave an amused chuckle when he pulled out an all-too-familiar pair of dark purple objects. He felt Shinji try to turn to see but tried to keep his eyes away from what was going on. "You know, Kurosaki-kun deserves more credit than you give him…if his prudence is something that you hold against him," and Kisuke knew his old friend well enough to know that was the case.

Shinji made a sound of discomfort at the teen's name but no protest otherwise. The next thing he knew a hard, slick object was forcing itself inside him. It was almost half way in when Kisuke turned it on, allowing him to relax his muscles enough that it was only unbearably uncomfortable when the widest part of the egg passed through his opening. They both knew the instant it was pressed up against his prostate because he came hard, spilling himself onto the floor.

"This is one of the toys he picked out for us to play with. I think he liked it a lot more than he wanted to let on," Kisuke continued.

"Don't…you…" was all he could manage before it was turned up to high and he came again.

"What's that?" he asked innocently, turning it back down to low.

"Don't talk about him! You…you know better than that," he scolded.

"Of course. My apologies." The shopkeeper reached down to find that the vizard's member was only about half erect. So, setting the control to the side, he reached into the bag again. This time he retrieved a pair of leather wrist cuffs attached one another by three thick metal links.

Shinji recognized the sound of the metal links clinking against one another and immediately brought his wrists together behind his back. Again, he heard the man in the hat chuckle. "You know I fucking hate that," he griped.

"I'm sorry I can't stifle my excitement like you can," Kisuke sarcastically sniped, taking the presented wrists into his hands and pulling them back around to the front of the vizard's body before fastening them. In actuality, Kisuke preferred to not allow his lovers to rest very much weight on their faces but he knew there were times when Shinji enjoyed having his face smashed into the ground. This gave him the option for either.

Feeling that was enough accessories for the time being because, as he had pointed out, the day was still very much young, he leaned over the man on his knees effectively covering his naked body with his own, very much still clothed, form. Shinji gave a shudder at the feeling of the other former captain's breath on his neck and when that strong, skillful hand found his returned erection, he came again. He could feel Kisuke's erection straining his pants and pressing into his backside and it turned him on even more. He enjoyed being toyed with but only if the person doing the toying appreciated it as much as he did. He always knew this man enjoyed that angle but it's always nice to get a little reassurance now and then.

However, it was also starting to give him ideas. "Kisu, fuck me," he sounded much more desperate than he wanted to and hoped that the humiliation to would earn him some sort of reward.

That was when Kisuke moved from kissing and nibbling on the back of Shinji's neck to his ear, "I don't think I'm ready to do that just yet," he whispered in a thick voice.

The vibrations of his friend's velvety words seemed to be somehow on the same frequency as the object still moving inside him. The strange phenomenon caused him to lose himself in the hand jerking him off. "Oh why?" he cried out desperately while trying to push himself against the anxious length as encouragement.

"Well, if you're nice and tight," he moved his off hand to the puckered entrance and began messaging with his thumb, rubbing the residual oil into the skin, "I'm gunna take my time and you're gunna like it," he informed authoritatively while pushing the tip of his thumb inside.

Shinji mewled and came again.

"I'm glad we're in agreement," the shopkeeper said resolutely. He continued his attentions, milking another three orgasms from his friend before his erection waned enough to not be considered cruel for withdrawing.

While Shinji sat, somewhat in a daze, trying to recover some of his higher brain functions, Kisuke started dressing him, unhooking the wrist cuffs to slide his arms through the sleeves of the dress shirt. He decided to leave them unhooked for the time being. The fact that the vizard was wearing them was almost enough for him. Then, to his surprise, he received no protest as he slid the skirt up his friend's legs, making the zipper and small eye-hook much easier to manage without having to looking. When he reached for the socks, that's when Shinji spoke, "I don't wanna wear the socks."

"If you don't wear shoes and socks, I'll be very tempted to tickle your feet at the most inappropriate times."

"Shoes and socks it is then. I left my shoes next to the door."

"I knew you'd see it my way." He went to retrieve them as quickly as he could, making sure to turn the vibrations up the further he got away and then back down as he returned. To his surprise and delight, Shinji had regained his bearings fairly well after that first assault.

The vizard held his hands out when he saw his shoes. When Kisuke appeared unsure he informed, "I can put my own damn shoes on. Why don't you make some lunch of something?"

"I was just about to ask if you were hungry. I'm not going to try cooking," because he knew from experience that would inevitably turn into_ very_ messy food sex. Moments later, they were placing a bento delivery order. He knew it wouldn't take long, so instead of diving headlong into another heated round, he stood. "I'd like to show you something."

Curiosity piqued, Shinji stood and followed as the owner of the establishment led him down the hall and into his bedroom. "I think I've seen everything in that room," Shinji joked and this time his former comrade's chuckle was appreciated.

"I made something. Just for you," he opened the door and led his guest inside.

Immediately, the vizard noticed the difference. On the wall, next to the window, was a door that had never been there before. He went up and poked his head out the window to see that the outside of the wall had not changed and showed no signs of any sort of openings. With a shrug, he pulled back inside and opened the door.

"I thought you knew better than to just go opening magic doors?"

"I'm feeling lucky today. So, what is this?" he carefully stepped inside.

"The spiritual resonance of this room is different enough from that of the real world. Passing through that door way pushes you into an overlapping dimension. This room and the area outside technically occupy the same," he was cut off again.

"Never mind," Shinji halted the explanation in favor of looking around. The window was still to the side of the now-open door but from this perspective, it looked into the bedroom. Other than that, the room was fairly unremarkable…aside from the center piece. A large bed sat in the center of the room and over that bed hung a clasp attached to a long rope. The rope was threaded through a pulley, the end tied to one of the bedposts.

Before either of them could say anything more, they heard a distant knocking. It was their lunch.

"Would you go get that?" Kisuke asked sweetly as he handed his friend some cash.

Shinji was about to until he remembered what he was wearing. "No way."

"I thought you were hungry."

"I am. So, go get it," he tried to hand the money back.

"If you wait too much longer, they'll leave and you'll have nothing to eat," Kisuke went over to pretend to examine the knot at the end of the rope.

If Shinji's stomach hadn't growled at that exact moment, he would have continued to protest. As he hurried to the door, he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. As much as he hated to admit it, the skirt didn't look bad on him. In fact, it made his legs look great. He didn't get to think about that for too long, though, because he could see the figure on the porch start to retreat.

Without thinking, he opened the door, "Wait, don't leave!" he politely called out. He only realized that it was a teenage girl when she turned around and he saw her double take at his choice of leg wear. "Oh…umm…ha ha, for a minute I thought I was at the wrong place," she giggled nervously.

Shinji blushed and gave a sheepish grin as they traded food for money. "Eegh…" he was almost able to totally contain his sound of surprise when the vibrating egg was turned up again. Her look of concern made his blush intensify.

"Are you okay?"

Even though she was probably only glancing over him for obvious signs of distress, it felt to the vizard like she was examining every inch of him.

As she looked him over, she spotted the cuffs still on his wrists and gave a noticeable reaction to them. Nothing verbal, but he saw the look of disbelief and shock in her eyes. "Um, you can keep the change," he barely managed as he backed away and into the shop.

That was when she really got a good look at him. His skin was flushed, his hair messy, and when she pulled her gaze back up his legs she saw the slight tenting in his skirt. "No, ya know what," she slapped the money back on top of the boxes now in the blonde's hands, "this one's one me." She took his cheeks in her hands and pulled him in for a quick kiss on the lips before running off, giggling all the while.

Shinji scratched his head and couldn't help wondering if, somehow, she had actually been the stranger person in their encounter. Shrugging it off, he ducked back inside. No need to be seen by any more people than necessary.

On his way back to the strange para-dimentional-whatever room, the vizard stopped to check himself out in the bathroom mirror. Sometime during that, he felt his blush return again when he looked down at the noticeable bulge forming beneath his skirt and was starting to understand why his mischievous old friend would like to see a skirt on a man.

He took a deep breath to center himself and, knowing that there was no way to tame his returning erection without prolonged physical attention, he practiced a couple of winks and smiles in the mirror while straightening his hair. After that he returned to the strange extra room.

"Here," he handed the shopkeeper his box of food and his money.

"You weren't supposed to pay for this," Kisuke chided.

"I didn't. The delivery girl said that it was on her," he tried to sound like it wasn't anything special.

"The short brunette with the glasses?"

Shinji nodded as he sat down on the floor next to the bed and began eating.

"I always knew she was a good girl. Did she say why?" he asked knowingly.

"Nope. I think she was in a hurry." He made sure to sit with his legs crossed because he found that was the least revealing position for the time being.

They ate quickly because of the growing anticipation and when Kisuke left to dispose of their trash, he returned with a bottle, two small saucer cups, and two small wooden tables.

Shinji wrinkled his nose, "You don't need to get me liquored up," he reminded.

"I'm not getting you liquored up," he motioned for the vizard to sit with him even though he somewhat enjoyed watching his guest fidget about.

He did just that, hoping that a bit of alcohol would ease his nerves.

Kisuke raised his, "To friends," he toasted.

"To lovers," Shinji added, or countered, neither was sure.

"To lovers," Kisuke agreed but before he could bring the saucer to his lips, the other man spoke again.

"To lovers who don't have to be told," he continued defiantly before trying to do the same. Only this time, it was he who was interrupted.

"To selfish lovers," the man in green parried, hoping to get the last word, but to no avail.

"Then, to us," Shinji said flatly.

"I believe that's what I said," he chided.

Then, they both smiled and actually drank to the toast. Not a moment later, Shinji found his cup being knocked out of his hands. He looked down to find his wrists being bound together once again. He gave a stupid smile and simply allowed it to happen. It was finally happening. He had catered to his friend's stupid whims long enough and now he would finally be rewarded.

As he was being pulled by his wrists onto the bed and fastened to the clasp that hung above, his head felt light and his body heavy, "Did you put something in the sake?"

"No. That would be foolish."

"Then why do I feel so strange?"

"I thought you knew better than to mix drugs and alcohol…" Kisuke continued in his chiding voice.

Shinji was about to make some sort of protest until his wrists were pulled upward. Once he was on his knees, with his hands above his head, but with enough slack for him to slouch and lean on his lover, the rope was tied off. His smile returned as he weakly tested his restraints. However, it didn't exactly last. When he looked down and saw his erection wasn't hidden but accented by the skirt that he was still wearing.

Once he was sure the other wasn't going anywhere if he suddenly decided he wanted to, he stood to the side of the bed admiring. "Still needs a little work but…" he took Shinji's chin in his hand and forced their gazes to meet, "you'd better hope nobody else sees you like this," warned.

Shinji laughed a little when his cock twitched at the suggestion, thinking to himself, 'Like I have much choice in the matter at this point.' Instead he said, "Keh, wouldn't that be something?"

"Promiscuity is one thing, whorishness is another," he informed curtly, half because he meant it and half because he wanted to see how the other would react. If the drugs were taking their proper effect now, the reply had the potential to be very interesting.

"You knew who I am when you let me into your bedroom. Why are you suddenly taking issue now?" he asked through gritted teeth. He could handle the teasing and the embarrassment. He could handle that the one of them was easily using the other just as much. What he couldn't handle at this point was someone who thought ill of him and his behavior.

Kisuke frowned, not as interesting of an answer as he was hoping for, but it certainly said a lot. He leaned down and gave his 'guest' a short, sweet peck on the lips before heading for the door.

"No…no…you can't leave me now!" he was finally outraged by his sluggishness and lack of mobility when he couldn't grab the other and make him stay.

"I'll be right back. We left some things in the other room." He informed as he exited, making sure to close the door.


	15. Bad Candy

Ichigo fans rejoice! Shinji fans...well, i'm afraid i've left you hanging (just like our beautiful blonde) for this chapter.

* * *

Flashback to three weeks ago...

"Kurosaki-kun, this is the third time you come here to ask me about Shinji. If you really want to know these things, you should ask him," the shopkeeper kept buzzing about the shop in an attempt to avoid the incessant questions of the young substitute soul reaper / vizard.

"I can't. He said that we shouldn't see each other for a while," he complained, not allowing the other to slip too far out of arm's reach.

"He didn't mean actually 'seeing' each other. He meant no sex! Honestly," Kisuke felt it was his turn to complain, as the teen had been pestering him for the better part of the afternoon, yet again, but he was cut off.

"I tried that," he gave a sigh of resignation and leaned against one of the larger candy bins for a second to think before he had to move to follow his friend, "Whenever I get close to him, he…" he trailed off.

"Listen, Kurosaki-kun, you can't rush these things, especially in a situation so delicate." He hadn't meant to sound chiding, but that's how it came out and it only aggravated the young man even more.

"It's not fair!" Ichigo yelled as he brought his fist down on the counter that they were now standing on either side of for the fourth time that afternoon. He hit a little harder than he intended, knocking a small bowl of, what looked like, tootsie rolls onto the floor.

The man in the hat rolled his eyes and simply started picking them up, putting them in a new dish, and picking up the broken pieces of the old dish. "You're not being fair to Shinji either, you know." Now his chiding tone couldn't have been more intentional.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo bent over and tried to help, but still only got in the way.

The former captain set down the new dish, now containing a fair majority of the candy, and took Ichigo's hands in his, "Kurosaki-kun, do you remember the reason you gave me for wanting to 'borrow' my basement during your first episode?"

Ichigo thought for a moment, "I told you…that I wanted to get my raietsu under control."

"Bingo. That's why you can't see Shinji." He dropped the teen's hands and, so he wouldn't have to suffer through the unhappy look the other was undoubtedly giving him, he picked up the rest of the mess. "You owe me…" he paused for a moment to check his figures, "twenty dollars."

"What? You can't charge me for filling my head with riddles!" Ichigo slammed his fist down on the counter once again.

This time, the shopkeeper was ready and didn't allow for another broken dish. "No, that's free. You owe me for the candy. I can't sell something that fell on the floor and since it's your fault, you're going to pay for it." He told the teen sternly.

Ichigo frowned. "I don't have any cash…and a bowl of tootsie rolls isn't worth a twenty."

"I didn't think you would. But I know you'll come back here and I won't let you inside until you pay me. Got it?" He was practically shoving the orange-haired teen out of the shop. He didn't really want it to come to this but aggravation of having been badgered about the same nonsense, that was actually none of his business, over and over, was starting to outweigh the young man's charm.

"Yeah, fine," he went to grab the dish but it was pulled out of his reach, "I just bought those, didn't I? Give'em to me."

"No. You can't have these. If you really have a sweet tooth, grab something on your way out," he motioned, putting the dish under the counter. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

"That doesn't make sense," Ichigo haughtily pointed out as he pulled one of the pieces from his sleeve and popped it in his mouth.

"You stupid brat!" Kisuke seethed for a moment until a grin suddenly formed on his lips. It occurred to him that his young friend was unwittingly making himself an excellent guinea pig. If the substances inside that candy could affect Ichigo, then surely they would have the desired effect on someone who actually wanted to be dominated.

"What?" the teen asked with marked indignantly.

"You are too willful," the man complained but his grin didn't waiver.

"So?" Ichigo was suddenly on the defensive.

"Perhaps it's time we did something about that," Kisuke made his way around the counter and approached his unruly 'customer'. He didn't stop until they were inches apart. He even took off his hat to get a better look at the young man's eyes, which were, as he'd hoped, starting to dilate. "Here, why don't you have another?" he asked, presenting one from the new dish. When Ichigo parted his lips to speak, he popped the candy in.

He barely caught it with his tongue before it went down his throat but he chewed it up and swallowed it anyway. After all, it was his, right? After he swallowed, he stuck his tongue out at the older man. "So come on, give me some real advice, please?" he added with the please a slight pout.

Kisuke had to give the kid points for trying, but he'd turned down cuter pouts in the past so Ichigo was shit out of luck. "My advice is to stop dragging me into it, how's that?" He needed to push Ichigo to see how strongly the chemicals were affecting him.

"Tch, just gimmie my candy and I'll go then." Ichigo had to force himself to step away from the older man. To distract himself from the dark voice of the only other person in the shop, he slipped behind the counter and snatched up the candy dish.

Before Kisuke could say anything, the teen had already inhaled another three pieces, at least. "Damn it, Ichigo, stop that!" he scolded and as soon as the words left his mouth the young man stopped with another piece only centimeters from his lips.

Ichigo blinked a couple of times, as though he was wondering why he was even holding the dish in the first place, before setting it back on the counter.

It took almost all of Kisuke's self control not to laugh. If one candy could make a normal person follow any suggestion that didn't completely go against who they were, he couldn't help wondering what five, maybe even six, could do for an extremely headstrong teenager with no control of his own spiritual pressure in the first place. "Kurosaki-kun, I believe you owe me an apology," he began.

"For?"

The shopkeeper smiled. Ichigo didn't sound as angry or indignant as he did unsure. "Well, you've been pestering me all day," that was an exaggeration, it had really only been an hour or so, "you've broken one of my favorite dishes," also an exaggeration, but what if it was true, then what?, "and you refuse to listen to me," that much was true.

Ichigo appeared crestfallen, "I-I'm sorry, Urahara-san. Is there anything I can do…or do you just want me to leave?"

Kisuke put his hat back on and gave a sigh of relief. He knew the effect would only last a couple hours so why not take advantage of it? "Follow me." He instructed.

The orange-haired teen wordlessly obeyed.

"I've been very busy lately and have had no time to clean. If you clean up the kitchen for me, I might be able to forgive you," he motioned into the dirty kitchen with his fan.

Ichigo nodded confidently and started rolling up his sleeves.

"Oh, no need to do that. I'd hate for your uniform to get dirty just because of your poor manners," he started unbuttoning the teen's white shirt for him, "You'll be completing this task in your underwear."

That made Ichigo blush so intensely that he thought his face would catch on fire but he couldn't bring himself to argue. He simply undressed and got to work.

While his 'guest' was cleaning off the counters and sorting the dirty dishes, he retrieved supplies for sweeping and mopping.

To make sure Ichigo didn't get side-tracked, Kisuke sat at the kitchen table and kept an eye on him while pretending to read the newspaper. Through a fair amount of small talk, he was able to confirm something that he'd already known, Ichigo, by and large, was an extremely honest person and if he didn't want to tell you the truth about something, he would rather avoid the subject altogether and say nothing at all instead of lie. It wasn't long before he felt comfortable enough to broach the subject, "So, the arancar that marked you," he watched Ichigo tense but he didn't stop cleaning, "how long ago was that?"

"I don't see why you care," Ichigo mumbled, though he almost blurted out the answer.

"Just answer me," Kisuke told him evenly.

"Over a year ago the first time and then again a few months after that."

"I see. And who were they?" he pressed.

"The sixth and fourth espada," he couldn't believe he was actually saying it.

"Espada?" Kisuke blinked in disbelief. "You're lucky to be alive then…especially if it happened twice." He informed.

Ichigo finally looked over his shoulder for a moment. The shopkeeper's smile was gone and replaced by a much more serious look. "Aizen took pity on me," he continued. It felt like weight was being lifted from his shoulders and once the stream started, it couldn't be stopped.

"Pity?" The man in green couldn't believe his ears. He'd expected some sort of random trysts, not some strangely sanctioned event.

"Disgusting, isn't it? But I couldn't argue with it; well, I did but…anyway, those scars you healed and the scratches down my sides…that was the only damage they caused."

"The only physical damage," Kisuke corrected and Ichigo didn't argue. "Ichigo, how did it happen?"

"Which time?"

"Both," he sat with baited breath.

"It's pretty stupid, really. Grimmjaw was here, for whatever reason. Who knows why he does anything? I was gunna take care of him. My hollow told me something was weird, that I should just leave him alone. But who would listen to him, right? As soon we made eye contact…I knew something was weird," he stopped there and was glad that the older man was wise enough to allow for a little bit of healing silence. "I was using my hollow transformation; didn't wanna mess around, take care of 'em quick, ya know? I guess that's what set him off. Whatever it was, he started chasing me but when he caught up with me, he didn't try to like kill me or anything. It was…it was too weird. So, he's chasing me and I'm all distracted 'cause apparently he's got a huge boner for me now, when this other one, Ulquiorra comes out of nowhere. I don't remember much detail after that, just that bastard kept blasting my head with stupid ceros and then we were in Heuco Mundo and…" he trained off again.

Kisuke was about to speak again, but Ichigo regained his voice a moment before and continued, "The second time…the second time is the one that really pisses me off. The first time was a stupid accident and it was partially my fault. The second time…he came into my fucking room and kidnapped me and gave me, as a present, to that stupid emo fucker."

The shopkeeper was glad that Ichigo had moved on from doing the dishes for that last part, as he would have most likely broken several. He set down his paper and walked up behind the young man, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Thank you, Ichigo…" he kissed the nape of the teen's neck. Then, when he peered over the shoulder just to the left of his lips, he noticed something wholly unexpected. It appeared that the young vizard was partially erect. "What's this?" he asked as he began to gently stroke the hardening flesh now tenting out the young man's boxers.

"Aah!" Ichigo gave a small cry and dropped his broom. "That's the shitty part…what they did…it wasn't all bad. They actually kinda took care of me, ya know," he blushed deeply. "I can't believe I can even say things like that. Urahara-san, what is the matter with me?"

"Just be grateful. And I don't think that there's anything the matter with you now that wasn't there before," he playfully teased while coaxing the flesh to its full length.

Once Ichigo's erection was sanding proudly and creating a large wet spot where the tip strained the thin fabric, he received a playful swat on the ass.

"Be a sweetheart and make us some tea, would you?" Again, he almost held his breath while waiting for the ornery teen to respond.

After a quick breath to settle his nerves, Ichigo went straight for the tea kettle. He bit his lip as he filled the kettle with water, as he had to lean against the counter, inadvertently applying pressure to the one part of him that craved it the most. As he took it from the sink to the stove, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the older man checking him out. His member twitched when he felt those dark eyes scrutinizing every detail. "Urahara-san," he carefully began as he started the burner, "If you like staring at me so much, why not have me naked?" When he turned to leave the water to boil, he reached a couple of teasing fingers beneath the waistband of his shorts and playfully adjusted it.

"That would be indecent," the shopkeeper barely managed through his blush. He was right, this kid was a quick study and it was starting to work to his disadvantage.

Ichigo laughed and turned to the cupboard to get the rest of the supplies set out on a tray.

"I could have asked you to wear an apron," Kisuke added once Ichigo's back was to him.

That caused Ichigo to laugh again, "You really think I coulda got anything done in a room with you while my bare-ass was hanging out?"

The shopkeeper frowned at being so easily called out. Perhaps that much honesty wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "That's why we decided to forego the apron."

The admission caused Ichigo's laughter to turn to a giggle as he started to slowly pull down the back of his boxers. His mindless giggling only lasted a moment before he felt the former captain's cane abusing the newly exposed flesh. He gasped, not only at the feeling of the spanking, but also at the way his body was reacting to it.

Ten swats later and Kisuke relented in favor of toying with the young man's erection.

Ichigo groaned and rolled his hips, finding that he had no problem playing these kinds of naughty games as long as he could feel that kind of pleasure. "Urahara-san," he moaned when he felt his knees about to buckle. But before he could find release, there was a loud, high-pitched whistle and the hand on his cock disappeared. He whined in frustration when the older man pulled his boxers back up.

"Get that, please," Kisuke went back to his seat and adjusted his pants. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do with the overly excitable young vizard but he was sure he didn't want to do it just yet. Teasing him was too much fun.

The orange-haired teen hurried to do as he was told. When he sat down, he had another question, "Did you ask me to make tea because you actually want tea?" he blurted out.

"What other reason could there be?" he tried to sound incredulous.

"Because you want me to do things for you…" he bluntly pointed out.

"And you think I'd do that."

"I wouldn't put it past you."

Kisuke shook his head and chuckled a little. Ichigo wasn't as dense as everyone thought he was. He just let too many other things get in the way of his common sense. Remove some of those filters and a very sweet, very adept young man emerged. Oh, and apparently horney. That was a definite bonus and something the shopkeeper could take credit for, since that was not one of the side-effects of the candies. "Come here," he motioned.

Ichigo returned to those teasing hands almost magnetically.

"Get on your knees," he ordered and when that order was obeyed he started to untied his sash.

"Here," Ichigo quickly brought his hands up to do that work for him. He knew what was coming next and, with any luck, if he did well, he would be rewarded, "let me."

Kisuke grabbed his wrists. "No. You are not to use your hands except to keep your balance. Understood? Now, you will make me cum using only your mouth."

Ichigo pouted but nodded in agreement just the same. And he didn't wait for the older man to finish pulling his pants down before he dove right in.

The blonde moaned as he wiggled out of his pants enough to give the young man bobbing in his lap sufficient access. When he saw that this was going to be something of an endurance challenge, he put one hand on the back of the young man's neck to help guide his motions. To his surprise, Ichigo resisted that 'suggestion' and so much so that he withdrew.

"Why are you doing that? Am I doing something wrong?"

"Of course not. I'm sorry if that bothers you. I just wanted to touch you," Kisuke smiled sweetly as the young man continued his 'work'. This time he made a conscious effort to play with that bright orange hair instead of trying to guide him. He was glad that he did, too, because he soon found himself on the verge of orgasm.

Because he wanted to continue teasing the young vizard, he tried to pull him away. Ichigo's lips were only off him for a moment, "I'm not finished," he growled before going right back to what he was doing.

That reaction made the older man lose himself and he couldn't help grinning foolishly down at the young man now swallowing his cum.

When it was over, Ichigo withdrew and eyed the shopkeeper carefully but before he could think of anything to say, he was instructed to return to his seat and pour the tea that had been steeping while the shopkeeper kept entertained.

"Kurosaki-kun, why are you so desperate to know about Shinji?" he began the questions again, this time more casually.

Ichigo frowned and looked away. It was all he could do to keep himself from blindly answering whatever the shopkeeper asked. However, he couldn't stay totally silent, "I-I feel like I should know more about him."

"Then you should wait until he's ready for that. Take it from me, if you push him too hard, he'll push back," he finally advised, now that he knew he would be listened to and most likely considered.

"But…I can _feel_ him holding back so much. It's driving me crazy," he complained.

"You can actually _feel_ him holding back?" the blonde didn't know the substitute soul reaper was that perceptive.

Ichigo frowned again and thought for a long moment. "I guess it's not that he's holding back so much that bothers me, even though it really bugs the hell outta me. I just wish I knew why he feels like he has to do that, ya know?"

"Perhaps you should heed my suggestion then and learn to control your raietsu. That would remove an enormous amount of stress from our friend."

"I've been working on it. Actually…" he began but suddenly stopped.

If the teen had just trailed off, Kisuke would have ignored it but the abruptness made him think twice. "Actually, what?"

"I was wondering if there are…things," he didn't want to give too much away, "that help with that kind of thing."

The blonde cocked a curious eye-brow. He could tell Ichigo was dancing around something, but what? "What kinds of 'things' are we talking about here?"

"Like…" he had to think, make sure he chose his words carefully, but his words were coming to his lips a little faster than he wanted them to, "like objects…or items, something like that. Like someone could wear something…or be near something and it would," he was so proud of his explanation that he was actually pretty irked when the older man finished it for him.

"Dampen your spiritual pressure. That's cheating, don't you think? I mean, you'd be relying on something else, like a crutch, instead of your own strength."

"My strength is the problem," Ichigo grumbled.

Kisuke chuckled a little at that. "It is as much the cause as it is the solution."

Ichigo knew the shopkeeper was right so he just let it go, knowing that no matter how much he pressed, it seemed he would not catch even the slightest break.

As the blonde poured their second cup of tea, he took a peek under the table to see that Ichigo was still pretty excited, at least physically. "However, if you were curious about the nature of the condition in the way that he suffers it, you might want to visit the vizard's warehouse. The others may be more inclined to share some of the more general information." Because Ichigo appeared to be seriously considering it, he added, "If you go when you know he's not there, they might take you a little more seriously."

That little bit of help made Ichigo smile, "Thanks," he barely said.

"Now, does this mean you'll leave me out of it?" Kisuke playfully chided.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it bothered you that much," Ichigo bowed his head slightly.

"Don't take this the wrong way. You two may be a lot of fun, but you have a hell of a lot of baggage. There's a reason I'm not really in the relationship business."

That made Ichigo laugh and his laughter seemed to dissolve any unresolved tension between them until Kisuke made his next move.

"Kurosaki-kun, before you take your leave for the evening, would you care for another lesson?"

Ichigo bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably. The mischievous glint in the older man's eyes is what made him finally say, "Yes, Urahara-sensei."

It was almost too good to be true. "I was hoping you'd say that. So, go ahead and start touching yourself," he encouraged.

Ichigo's right hand obeyed without even consulting his brain and once he started, it seemed impossible to stop. "Nnngh…oh why?"

"Hmmm?" Kisuke leaned forward.

"Why can't I say no to you?"Ichigo cried out pitifully.

Kisuke frowned, "Stop."

Ichigo found that was easier said than done but slowly came to a stop and pulled his hand away.

"Do you want to say no? You know you may leave whenever you like," he sounded less sure of himself than before. Perhaps his sweet concoction was a little stronger than he anticipated.

Ichigo made uncomfortable eye contact and somehow blushed even more than he already was. "Well, not exactly but…" he trailed off.

"But what?"

"But it's more fun if I can fight you a little," he bashfully admitted.

Kisuke breathed a sigh of relief. He would have actually had to feel bad if he'd been using Ichigo and Ichigo wasn't even a little amused. "Well, you're the one that's just sitting there…touching himself…"

Those last two words sent Ichigo's hand back to its previous task and the slightest dawning of understanding lit up behind his largely dilated eyes. He gave a slight whimper before he could speak, "What are you doing to me?"

"Oh? Would you rather…stop?"

Ichigo's hand stopped moving again but this time he managed to keep it in place. He glared as best he could but it only seemed to excite the other further. "Whatever you're doing, stop it!"

The shopkeeper's features softened when the young soul reaper's tone turned to genuine anger. "I'm not really doing anything," he began but wasn't allowed to elaborate.

"Liar!"

"I tried to save you from this, from yourself really. But, as usual, you just wouldn't listen…" he continued.

"What are you babbling about?"

"Those candies that you so eagerly gobbled up were more than tootsie rolls," he informed.

Ichigo's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide with disbelief. "How could you?"

"Now don't go blaming this on me. I tried to keep them from you, if you remember but you made yourself entitled to them

"How could you leave something like that just sitting on the counter? What if one of those kids grabbed one?"

"Oh, they taste awful to children. Whenever a child tastes one, they immediately spit it out. And it wasn't just sitting out. I was actually taking it somewhere when you barged in on me. I didn't want you asking about it, so I just set them aside like nothing." He paused for a moment, "It would have worked if not for your temper."

"Stop blaming me for this. You should have said something."

"Yes, I probably should have. But, honestly, I didn't expect them to work so well with as headstrong as you are."

Ichigo's intense glare did not waver. "How much control do you have over me?"

"Well, it's still difficult to say. Since you've apparently caught on, I doubt I can hold much influence outside something you would normally do."

With that, Ichigo stood. He didn't even think about it, he didn't have to fight some invisible or internal force, it just happened. With a sigh of relief, he went back to where his clothes were folded and started dressing.

"Oh, no, no! That just won't do, Kurosaki-kun," Kisuke rushed over and once Ichigo was almost all the way into his pants, he carefully knocked him down. "You _have_ to let me take care of you first."

"No, I don't," Ichigo protested through gritted teeth.

"I thought you trusted me," Kisuke breathed into the side of Ichigo's neck while making sure the teen's pants didn't get pulled up any higher.

"I don't know if I trust you. You're a really hard person to trust," he admitted and immediately felt guilty when the man behind him gave a sad sort of chuckle.

"You're not the first person who's said that but put yourself in my position. Wouldn't you test my limits a little if our roles were switched?"

"I think 'naked maid' goes beyond a little," Ichigo dryly retorted.

"You weren't naked," Kisuke reminded before going back to kissing the young man's neck.

"I might as well have been with the way you were staring," he shot back but still couldn't manage to free himself, or really try that hard to free himself.

"You like the way I look at you," he informed with a dark voice directly into Ichigo's ear. "And you like the way I touch you, so settle down and let me make you cum."

Ichigo would have complied had his body not done so for him. Of course, what he did could hardly be considered settling down but he was less resistant. "Just…don't tell anybody, please," he finally gave in again, allowing his body to move with instead of against the attention.

"My dear boy, no one would believe me even if I did tell them," he was finally able to push Ichigo's boxers away enough to actually start jerking him off. A few moments filled with pathetic whimpers later, he turned the young man around in his lap. He only stopped pleasuring him for a second during the transition.

"Don't look at me like that," Ichigo complained but brushed the stray hairs away from the blonde's dark eyes nonetheless. "Aaah, and don't tease me, god damn it! I don't like it when you tease me."

"How come? I'm doing it to prolong your pleasure," he tried to sound reassuring but his grin didn't help at all with that.

"You're doing it to watch me squirm!" the orange-haired teen accused.

"Well that's fun too," the shopkeeper admitted. "But I assure you that it's not as much fun without a little teasing."

"You have no idea what 'a little' means do you?" Ichigo nearly spat but his breath was coming in gasps now and he could feel his orgasm approaching.

"I could show you what 'a lot' means to me," he offered in a dark voice and felt the teen tense ever so slightly in his grasp.

Ichigo gave a nervous laugh which sounded very odd when mixed with the moaning sounds he was now making. "Make me cum," he practically ordered but then added, "…please…" in an impossibly husky voice.

"No," Kisuke pulled his hand away and waited for the inevitable growl of frustration before continuing, "I'd still like for you to do that…please."

Ichigo squirmed inwardly when he realized that his hands had started to shake.

"If you're concerned about your judgment, your system should metabolize that much of the chemical," he was about to tell Ichigo how much longer the drug would last and how much of an effect it should have on him. However, there was a strong hand cover his mouth and muffling his words.

"No. Don't tell me. I wanna be able to blame this on the drugs," he informed as his other hand went back to the task it had been set at while they were still seated at the table.

So that the teen didn't think he was totally useless, Kisuke started massaging Ichigo's inner thighs. The sensation made Ichigo lose what little balance he had and rest even more of his weight on the man beneath him that happened to grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"You're not even watching," the vizard accused when he noticed that the blonde almost never looked down into his lap.

"I can't watch that when you keep making such cute expressions."

"Well, I can't cum with you staring like that," Ichigo whined as he tightened his grip.

"A little stage fright? That's not like you. But I suppose it can't be helped. Here," he moved one of his hands from Ichigo's hip to his backside, immediately finding his entrance and teasing it with his fingertips, "Let me help a little then."

Ichigo moaned and unconsciously started to push back. That was all it took. Moments later his eyes were rolling back, his mouth agape in a choked-out cry, as he spilled himself on the older man's clothes.

Kisuke awed for a moment before pulling his once unruly guest in for a deep kiss. When he withdrew, it was because the young man in his lap was quickly losing steam.

Ichigo brought his fingers to his lips, making sure to use the hand that didn't have cum splattered on it, "Why'd you do that?"

"You mean the kiss?" Kisuke surmised.

Ichigo nodded.

"Because you are amazing…but don't let it go to your head," he half-teased.

Ichigo was a little taken aback by that and obviously didn't know what to say so he simply crawled out of the man's lap and finished dressing.

"Oh, you've made a terrible mess of me," mock-complained as he stood.

Ichigo gave a sarcastic chuckle. "That's your fault."

Kisuke gave a sigh. "I suppose it is…but it was worth it," he added. Then, when Ichigo was dressed again, he pulled the orange-haired vizard into a warm embrace that was only fought for the first few seconds until he whispered, "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

"Whatever. You are never allowed to do that to me ever again." He was suddenly uncomfortable with how genuine the other was being.

"Don't worry about that," he finally withdrew and led the other back to the kitchen table where he poured them each a new hot cup of tea.

"What are those even for anyway? It can't be legal to sell those, let alone have them…whatever they are," he continued to complain but followed anyway.

"Since it worked so well, accident or no, I'll tell you. Think of it as though the active ingredient lowers a number of your mental filters, mostly those associated with inhibitions. It makes telling the truth as well as following simple suggestions much easier for the subject."

Ichigo scrunched up his nose as he tried to process the information now being thrown at him in the context of what just transpired. "Let me ask another way. How much control does that give you?"

Kisuke gave a sigh. "Well, that sort of depends on the person who took the drug. "You are apparently extremely adept at reading people when you don't let your inhibitions and other nonsense get in the way. I didn't have to make as many verbal suggestions as I expected and when I did, you responded very well."

Ichigo didn't like the man's use of 'very well', but he didn't argue. He knew what it meant.

"If you're asking whether I can make you do anything truly outside of your character, that would not work. In fact, it seems to be the fastest way to make the body produce the hormones necessary to purge the drug at much greater rate."

The teen was obviously uncomfortable with what he was being told.

"But remember you ate far more than a person is supposed to in a single sitting, making you much more impressionable than would have been ideal, but we made do, right?" he gave a sly smile.

"You should have stopped me," Ichigo tried to argue.

"You didn't listen to me until after you'd already had too many and you should be glad they work as quickly as they do because you would have probably eaten the entire dish if they were time-release." His tone spoke of a previous incarnation of the treacherous candy and an experiment gone awry.

Ichigo finally gave a sigh of resignation. "It's gunna wear off soon, right?"

"How do you know it hasn't worn off already?" Kisuke asked knowingly.

"It's weird but when you're really pushing me, I get the aftertaste from those candies in my mouth. It's there all the time, I think, but that's when I can really taste it. When that happens, it's like my brain short-circuits and just starts doing whatever."

"I see. You've been most helpful. I may have to alter my recipe slightly. It's been so long since I've had to make it and I had to do a little improvising."

"So…what's it for?" he tried asking again.

"It's for…personal use. That's all I'm going to say for the sake of my customer's privacy. I'm sure they would be most uncomfortable with me talking about them behind their back.

Ichigo glared but because he wouldn't want Kisuke talking about him, he didn't try to get a name and when he was done with that cup of tea, he stood and pushed his chair in.

Seeing that the young man was actually going to leave this time, not just see if he could get away, Kisuke stood as well. "If you're just going home, then you should be fine. You might get conned into a few extra chores but that's about it. But don't drink any alcohol."

"I don't drink," Ichigo dryly reminded, "Wait, why's that?"  
"Unless you want to know what it's like to lose control of the majority of your higher motor functions, I would just steer clear, okay?"

Ichigo was suddenly glad that they had been sipping tea and not some other beverage. "K, damn…"

"Well," Kisuke stood with Ichigo at the door and looked him over, making sure that there weren't too many details out of place before letting him go, "take care and think about what I said."


	16. Date pt 2

Shinji hung for a moment and took in his surroundings. The room itself was unremarkable but as he took it in, he noticed that his breathing had leveled out and all the tension in his muscles, except one, had started to dissipate. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be able to touch himself, to relieve some of the pressure. He didn't mind doing some of it himself but his lover apparently had other things in mind.

Luckily, Kisuke had been telling the truth and returned in rather short order. The vizard heard himself mumble the other's name a couple of times as he approached but couldn't really manage anything more after that.

The shopkeeper smiled as he started removing things from the bag. The first was another familiar favorite. He lifted the vizard's tight shirt, which had begun to cling to his skin with perspiration, and carefully attached a pair of small nipple clamps. Then, he pulled the garment back down and admired the way that the helpless man's nipples were now clearly outlined by the white shirt.

Shinji's vision blurred when his lover started teasing his nipples through the thin fabric and he almost lost himself. He wasn't sure how he didn't but he cried out like he had.

Kisuke gave a pleased nod before reaching back into the bag. That's when he retrieved possibly his favorite toy, a simple blindfold. "Turn around," he ordered and watched to see what the other would do.

The vizard gave a whine more pathetic than anything he'd ever admit to when he tried to turn and found it much more difficult than it should have been and the way his shirt rubbed against his nipples every time he moved wasn't helping either.

That was just the reaction he'd been looking for and helped his bound companion to comply. Then, he put the blind fold on him, making sure that perfectly straight hair didn't get too messed up in the process. The vizard gave a slight mewl at the feeling of the other fixing his hair.

Shinji suddenly felt cold when Kisuke withdrew but the heat soon returned when he felt a pair of strong and sure hands take hold of his hips and pull him backward so that most his weight rested on his knees but a fair amount still rested on his wrists as the restraints forced him to strain forward. He could feel his breath becoming ragged once again, especially when the man behind him lifted the back of his skirt and rested it on the small of his back, effectively exposing him. The length of the skirt had provided some level of modesty but now it was pointless but he didn't really care because soon after, there were a set of blunt teeth digging into the flesh of his ass and he was coming.

After he knew there would be at least a bruise, Kisuke stopped biting his lover and restarted his more gentle affections. He started by pouring a bit of oil onto the other's skin, making sure to take the time to really rub it in.

"Aaah…it tingles…" Shinji gasped.

"It contains a fair concentration of mint oil. If you breathe deep, you can smell it."

"I-I didn't pick that," he stammered as the mint caused waves of heat and cold to ripple over his skin, making every cell it touched hyper-sensitive.

"Sure you did, it was in the bag," Kisuke offhandedly replied.

"No, I…You had to've-oh fuck!" Shinji nearly lost his balance as well as his words when the man massaging him started probing with a single oil-coated finger.

"Such language, and accusations to boot," Kisuke chided as he watched the other man's erection respond to every touch, especially as he pushed deeper.

At that, Shinji gave up. He knew there was no sense in protest and with another orgasm so close on the horizon, he couldn't think straight enough to effectively protest even if he wanted to. However, the attention combined with the thing still vibrating inside him was too delicious and he moaned loudly, straining backward as he came. He didn't need to see to know that the tingling oil that was coating his skin was quickly starting to coat his insides. As if he wasn't going to be sensitive enough with having deprived himself from that pleasure for so long, now he was going to have the same hyper-sensitivity that made his skin react to the slightest touches, or even just the movement of the air around him, in such a way that he thought he was going to cum with every sensation.

Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, his outbursts no doubt an excellent indicator for this, Kisuke withdrew.

"Kisu…" Shinji mewled and tried to strain backward but to no avail, he was already stretched as far as he could go. He heard rummaging; something new was being removed from the bag. He would have fidgeted if he had the capacity. And finally, a firm hand returned to his body, more specifically, his hip and then, something sliding easily up and down his crack, threatening to penetrate with every pass. The bound blonde breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was one of the smaller, softer dildos

The sigh no sooner slipped his guard when the object teasing him started to penetrate him. It was the perfect size to test his tightness, just wide enough to remind him that he was being stretched but not enough to cause the painful tearing sensations that accompanied being stretched too quickly. It wasn't even half way in before resulting in orgasm and what little strength and coordination that Shinji had been able to manage slipped away, leaving him to fall forward and away from the delicious attention. He would have whined if that hadn't been a particularly satisfying release so instead, he was left gasping for precious oxygen.

Kisuke sat back and enjoyed the sight of his dear friend's nearly limp body, heaving for air before him, still helpless and still very much aroused. Then, without a word, he took the vizard, turned him back around, and set him so that he was seated straddling the shaggy blonde's lap. Then, after propping the vizard's left leg up on his shoulder for better access, Kisuke started again with the jelly phallus. This time he actually got it all the way in and could feel it nudging the vibrating egg before Shinji stained the inside of his skirt again. After another couple of orgasms, Shinji's sounds of desperation started to go from heated to something less enjoyable.

"Is there something the matter?" Kisuke carefully asked as he withdrew the toy in favor of a more manual approach once again.

"Th-the blindfold," Shinji barely admitted.

"You want me to remove it?" the dominant blonde sounded surprised.

"It's too disorienting… It's making me dizzy…"

Kisuke made a tisk-tisk sound before sliding the black cloth covering his partner's eyes down so that it hung loosely around his neck and then watched as Shinji blinked at the sudden brightness. As much as he hated to remove it, at least that reaction proved it was effective. He allowed a few moments of minimal attention for the other to regain some of his bearings and even helped him with a few swallows of water. "Is that better?"  
Shinji nodded sheepishly. He hated to be the one to ask others to reel it back a bit but it was starting to feel like he might have a panic attack from it so, in this case, he couldn't bring his pride to care.

"Good," he gave a reassuring smile before looking back down to pull out the vibrating egg.

The bound blonde appeared disappointed by that but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry. It's just that I don't want to go sticking too many different things inside you at once. It's just not safe that way," he informed before tossing it off the bed and into the 'I'm done with that' pile that had started to form on the carpet at the foot of the bed.

The very idea made Shinji squirm. Then, when he watched with marked anticipation as the next item was removed from the goody bag. It was a slim vibrator, only slightly thicker than the dildo that was just inside him, made of hard plastic with a slight curve and a half-twist. He bit his lip and felt himself start to shake ever so slightly with anticipation.

"Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten how much you like this one," Kisuke gave an evil grin and set it to the side.

Shinji grumbled and kicked with impatience until the other blonde took a firm grip on one of his ankles.

"If you're going to kick, I'll hang you by your ankles," Kisuke warned and the fuss immediately stopped. "Good," he awarded the change in behavior with a few minutes dedicated to teasing Shinji's nipples, now swollen and sore from the clamps and the constant rubbing from his shirt. "You know," he began as he carefully pinched the hem of the skirt between his fingers and lifted it so that he could get a good look, "I've been neglecting a very important part of you." He eyed the other man's anxious length. "It's time I remedy that," he informed as he went back to the bag.

Shinji shot a disappointed look at the toy laying just to his right, but so totally out of his reach that it might as well have been on the other side of the world, but didn't say a word. In his longing, he didn't see what had been removed this time until things started being attached to his penis. Soon, three, relatively small, bullet vibrators, held in place by elastic, were soon lined up along the underside of his length. Then a string with a bell about the size of a cherry attached to one end was loosely looped and knotted just below the head. It wasn't heavy so with every movement the slightest jingling could be heard and he made sure that none of the fastens were tight enough to inhibit orgasm, as that would be beyond cruel and, in his mind, totally pointless.

Then, after a moment to make sure it was perfect, which was the part that drove the vizard crazy the most, Kisuke turned the vibrators on, one by one, watching and listening to how eagerly his partner reacted to them. "That's better. Now, where were we? Ah, yes," he picked up the toy he set down moments ago and looked into Shinji's eyes for another reaction to it. However, this time, Shinji's eyes were tightly shut as he was starting to cum again. "Now, Shin-chan, if you're just going to close your eyes anyway, I'm going to put the blindfold back on," he warned in a sing-song voice.

Shinji's eyes flew open but before he could do any more than that, he felt hard plastic being pushed inside him.

"Good. Now, watch carefully," he instructed as he pushed past the tight ring of muscle.

He never really realized how much he closed his eyes during extreme moments of pleasure until he tried not to screw his eyes shut and failed miserably.

Kisuke gave a sigh of mock-disappointment before starting to put the blindfold back into place. Again, he took an agonizing moment to adjust his partner's hair while he teetered on the edge of another orgasm with something only just barely inside him.

It occurred to Shinji through some strange epiphany that these moments of simultaneous attention and deprivation were what his old friend was best at and that realization was what allowed him to cum even before those perfectly teasing hands made it back below his waist.

The man seated on the bed wore an impossibly greedy but wholly unappreciated grin as he slid the object inside. It couldn't be helped, with no one able to scrutinize his reactions and the way Shinji threw his head back, a guttural moan tearing through him.

By now, the drug had already peaked, most likely right before the vizard's near-panic attack, and the effects were quickly waning. As for the effect of mixing the drug with alcohol, it seemed to be wearing off as well. All this left the 'condition' to surface in full force and Kisuke unsure as to how long the rope and pulley restraining his partner would last if he didn't do anything about it.

This left him with a difficult choice. He could give Shinji another dose and then do as he pleased. He could let it wear off and let Shinji do as he pleased. Or he could let it wear off but still try to keep him restrained.

The third option was right out. From experience, he knew that one or both of them would end up injured in that situation.

The second option was promising but not necessarily any more or less promising than the first. It really depended on what Shinji wanted to do at that point but, as the vizard had toasted to earlier, 'lovers who don't have to be told'. He couldn't just come out and ask; he had to see what the other wanted in another, less direct way.

After a moment of thought, he decided that it was time for him to leave for a few moments. This time, he didn't tell the other what he was up to. He simply turned the vibrator on and made sure it was coated with minty oil before sliding it in as far as it would go. Then he fastened a set of straps around his waist and between his legs to hold the object in place. Kisuke didn't have to test it because Shinji was already wiggling and squirming while the vibrator stayed in place.

Pleased with that, Kisuke stood from the bed, pulled Shinji upright so that he was barely resting any weight on his knees, and straightened his clothes and hair before leaving. He stood for a moment, outside the door remembering that because it was so difficult to keep 'extra' raietsu out of that room, he had to sacrifice the ability to keep the spiritual pressures within the room from leaking, or in this case pouring, out. He sighed. It wasn't a perfect solution but it worked and it was certainly more conducive than rolling around in the dirt downstairs.

Even though he'd pretty much decided not to put any more chemicals into his friend, the idea of threatening was titillating so he went to go get a piece of candy. As he walked out of his bedroom, he could hear his friend's sounds of pleasure mixed the light jingling of a silver bell.

He had to go to a hidden compartment in the special store room to get what he was looking for and he was about two steps away from his bedroom door when he felt a surge of familiar energy. At first, he didn't think about it and assumed it was Shinji but when it happened again a few seconds later and felt as though it was getting closer, he took a moment of concentration to make sure. He was glad that he did because a certain overly-curious, orange-haired vizard was headed in his general direction.

Kisuke silently scolded himself for assuming the worst. He had been very distracted for the better part of the day; the teen might have a reason to be moving that direction. But, better safe than sorry, right? So, after a quick stop at his toy stash, he returned to his anxious partner.

As he took stock of Shinji's condition he also tried to keep track of Ichigo's raietsu. Fortunately, he was having a very difficult time getting a good feel for him in the extra-dimensional space. Though it appeared that the blonde vizard had regained enough motor control to free himself, or at least put a significant strain on the system holding him in place, he still hung helplessly, twitching and jingling.

"You came back…" Shinji marveled when he heard his friend's footsteps.

"Of course I came back," Kisuke cooed, "But I'm afraid I have to leave you again for a short while."

"No, no, no more leaving," only then did Shinji start to really fight against his bonds.

Apparently, the added effect of the alcohol was almost gone too. "I was afraid you'd say that." Then, he pulled out Shinji's ball gag, setting it to the side before grabbing the bottle of sake. He had to do it just right or it wouldn't work. "I won't be gone long," he assured before taking a little over an ounce of sake into his mouth. He knew the false reassurance would get a rise out of the other and when he opened his mouth to protest once again, he sealed their lips and slowly, carefully made the vizard drink it during an unusually passionate kiss. When he was sure the other had swallowed most of the alcohol, he pulled away and wiped his lips on his sleeve.

"You can't do stuff like that and then just leave me," Shinji continued to protest but it did not work in his favor.

Instead, Kisuke used this opening to gag his friend but with an added bonus. He'd managed to stick the candy he hadn't really intended on using to one side. The vizard would have no choice but to eventually swallow it and it was already too late to do anything about it because the straps were already fastened behind his neck and he could already feel his muscles beginning to fail him once again.

The last thing he would add was also without warning. Shinji simply made a sound of confusion when Kisuke started to play with his ear. The soft foam earplug was in place before the vizard could even consider what that might mean.

"I promise. This won't be long," he continued assuring, in a rather dark voice, into Shinji's other ear before adding the other plug.

All the vizard could do was weakly shake his head 'no' and know that it would do him no good. If Kisuke said that he was leaving, he would leave. Shinji could only hope that it really wouldn't take very long.

Kisuke cleaned up the sake, cups, and trays as he retreated to make sure he misjudged a certain young man.

Unfortunately, he was right and there was a knocking on his door a few minutes later.

* * *

2:23 AM that morning…

Ichigo awoke with a start. He was sweating and breathless. Cursing under his breath, he looked beneath his sheets. He was terribly aroused but found that he had not yet caused a stain. He took a deep breath to steady himself before rolling over and trying to ignore it in favor of a more complete night's sleep.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" His hollow suddenly scolded.

"I'm trying to sleep!" Ichigo grumbled.

"Ugh, it's not like you have school tomorrow," the hollow pointed out.

It was the first week of the three-week fall break from classes but it was still two-thirty in the morning. "Don't care, goin' to sleep," Ichigo shut his eyes and tried again.

The hollow gave an evil cackle. "Remember what happened the last time you were all hot and ready and tried to go to sleep? Or are you hoping I'll pull ya in here for a good romp?"

"That's different. You can't do that if I'm not all distracted and weird," he growled into his pillow until he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He rolled over to find it was Kon. "What?"

"Who are you talking to?" the lion asked incredulously.

"Nobody," Ichigo snapped.

"Well you and nobody were loud enough to wake me up. Think you and your imaginary friend could keep it down?"

With another grumble of frustration, Ichigo tossed the plushy across the room and tried again to go back to sleep. This time he was able to ignore the other two presences, one in his room, the other in his head, well enough to drift into a nice, quiet, deep… "Oh, shit! No!" Ichigo's mind kick-started but it was too late. He'd already voluntarily released too much of his cognitive abilities to stop his hollow from assuming control.

The worst part was that Ichigo was sort of thinking about how it wouldn't be so bad to have another dream-scapade with his inner demon. It was most likely what gave the creature enough of a foothold to do what he did next. Instead of just pulling Ichigo's consciousness down to his level, he pushed his way to the forefront.

The hollow gave a quiet giggle when he solidified its temporary control, "Don't worry. I'm just gunna make sure you're not neglecting yourself and then I'll go back," it mentally informed as he started touching the turgid length jutting out from his body. "You can thank me later," he was going to taunt the teen more but instead trailed off into a soft mewl.

Ichigo tried everything he could think of to stop the hollow, including bringing to mind all of the least-arousing, boner-killing thoughts and images he could think of. It annoyed the hollow but not enough to relent. No, it only made the perverted creature drudge up all the terrible things that did arouse the young man.

This only went on for a few minutes before a certain mod soul made his presence known once again. "Ichigo, what the fuck are you doing?" He had a fair idea but he'd seen Ichigo masturbate before and it wasn't usually this animated. The way he was giggling and squirming about made him wonder if the teen was really okay.

"Stupid plushy," the hollow grumbled before poking his head out from under the blankets to eye the stuffed lion.

"I-Ichi..go?" Kon barely stammered when he saw the hollow's eyes peering back at him through Ichigo's body.

The hollow cocked his head and snickered, "You know that's not quite right."

"Okay, well. Forget I was even here. I'll just be going now. Tell Ichigo I said hi." Kon made a break for the door but was easily stopped mid-air as he leapt from the bed.

"Did he ever thank you?" the hollow asked as he pulled the stuffed mod-soul into his arms.

"Th-thank me? For what?" he asked with panic and suspicion.

"Oh you know. That thing he _never_ wants to talk about, even when he needs to. He'd never admit it to you but he's grateful for what you did that day, _everything_ you did that day." He laughed again when Ichigo started freaking out about what was being said instead of just the obvious ulterior motive.

"It was nothing really. I don't know what came over me. Look, um…" he shifted in the too-tight embrace of the hollow abusing Ichigo's natural strength, "it looks like you were doing something so I'll just leave you to that."

The hollow gave a sound of grave disappointment and pouted at the wiggly, squishy thing in his arms. "I was hoping you'd let me thank you since he's apparently not planning to," he informed before removing the small green candy from the stuffed animal. Then, he carelessly tossed the lion off the bed and popped the candy into his mouth. As soon as he was expelled from Ichigo's body, he turned and pinned it.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Kon demanded, struggling against the hollow's strength to no avail.

The hollow quickly covered Kon's mouth with his hand, "Shhh! You want the family to wake up? What would they think if they saw this? It certainly would be interesting but I doubt it would be as entertaining," the hollow mused.

Kon quieted. He knew that, at the very least, Ichigo would not want his family finding out about anything like this.

"Good. Now, help me get undressed," he ordered, "These robes are a pain in the ass." With that he got up on his knees and started untying the sashes.

Just because he was going to be quiet didn't mean he would be compliant. He didn't say no but he just sat in silent refusal.

The hollow gave a mocking grin before leaning over the fairer, weaker body. "What if I told you that I have something that would turn you into my mindless slave for several hours?" It was an exaggeration, of course, but there was some truth to it. During Ichigo's altercation with the mysterious and mischievous shopkeeper, the teen had actually pocketed two of the questionable candies but he'd only been able to eat the one in front of the older man. After that, things escalated and he forgot about the other one in his pocket until he was on his way home.

Kon gave a displeased frown.

"Think of all the wonderful things you could do for me. Why, I could turn you into the perfect little cock-slave and make you love every second of it," he continued to taunt until the mod soul's hands were reluctantly working on undressing.

"Ichigo won't let you get away with this…" Kon grumbled but sank further when the hollow laughed, rather loudly at the notion.

"That stupid King ain't gunna do nothin'. He's stuck in here," the hollow pointed to his temple, "and he's not gettin' out until I'm done!" He informed resolutely. "But don't worry. I paid _very_ close attention that day. I was so close to the surface that day that I feel like we've already been together, in a way," he continued his musings while they finished undressing him. Then, without a second thought he ripped off the boxers on the human form and dove under the covers.

Kon gave a yelp at the violent exposure but quickly covered his mouth and prayed no one would hear him. Then, to his dismay, he almost yelped again when the hollow using Ichigo's soul form started licking his erection. Eventually, he managed to whisper, "Please, it's…too much, slow down," he pleaded.

The hollow laughed and withdrew. In opted to continue pleasuring the other with his hands and bring their faces closer so they could speak. "You were amazing that day," he began in a hushed voice that grew darker but not louder as he continued, "Even after you were spent and he kept going, you didn't complain. You just took it with a fuckin' smile on your face." A few kisses up and down the other's neck and he felt compelled to continue as the praise seemed to have just as much of a positive effect as the physical attention. "He didn't _really_ want you to leave." The hollow had to pause to wince slightly at the intensity of the screaming going on inside his head as he started his next set of twisted ramblings. "He was just _so scared_ that you would hate him for what he _is_ and what he _needs_ to do. But you're better than that. It must be insulting to be underestimated so often," he shamelessly flattered while threatening to finger the body below him.

Kon yelped again.

"Shhh!" the hollow clasped his hand of Kon's mouth but it was too late.

They could hear stirring, a door opening, footsteps, and then a very sleepy voice.

"Ichi-ni? Are you okay?" It was Karin.

With a warning look, the hollow moved his hand for the other to speak.

"Umm…yeah, I'm fine…" Kon managed.

"I heard you yell, are you sure?" the sleepy girl pressed, her fingers centimeters from the knob.

"I-I was…I was dreaming. I'm sorry I woke you." The mod soul gave a sigh of relief when he actually came up with a reasonable excuse.

"Oh, okay. Good night," she wandered back to her bed without another word.

After a very long, very tense moment of very little movement and no words, Kon whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's not lookin' too good for me and blondie," the hollow grumbled, "So, I think it's time that you and the king got a little closer," he laid down on the other for emphasis, "if you know what I mean," he added mostly because he knew it would drive the soul reaper crazy.

"Then you should realize that what you're doing is only going to push us farther apart." He tried not to react too much to what was being done to him, either with or against.

That caused the hollow to pause. He'd wanted to show Ichigo that Kon would be willing to service him occasionally if only he was provided the proper coaxing. But the mod soul's words made his stomach turn because of how truly they rang. "Aackh, damn it…" The hollow held tight to the body beneath him as he felt the soul reaper regaining his control.

Kon had a pretty good idea what was happening and instead of letting Ichigo jump away from him, which would no doubt cause quite a ruckus in addition to creating even more tension between them, he held on as best he could. Ichigo was so disoriented that he was largely successful.

"Shhh…" Kon preempted when he felt Ichigo take a breath to speak. To his relief, the teen complied and simply rolled off him.

"I am so," of course he was apologizing already and Kon was just as ready to cut him off with a clumsy lip-lock.

When Ichigo stopped trying to talk, Kon pulled away, enjoying the fact that the teen's usual tactics of being loud and violent were useless in this situation. "No apologies," he ordered firmly.

Ichigo frowned but eventually nodded in agreement.

"Good. Was he talking about that slick-lookin' blonde?" he couldn't help asking and he was glad that he did because even though Ichigo didn't answer verbally, his expression gave him away. If that hadn't the way he blushed when Kon nodded in approval would have.

"How do you know about Shinji?" Ichigo asked after a long moment and only when he knew he could keep his voice down.

"He was lookin' for ya that day. I ran into him as I was leaving. Don't worry, I redirected him, let'em know you were busy."

Ichigo blinked stupidly. "Thanks…" he replied after a moment, figuring it was better to let the mod soul believe that than to admit to the shameful things that happened after the 'slick-lookin' blonde' arrived. "Do you hate me?" he finally asked.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I don't hate you," Kon, during this exchange had managed to regain a majority of the closeness that was lost when Ichigo moved away.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened between you and the blonde?"

Ichigo gave him a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"The hollow said things weren't lookin' good for you two. What happened? He looked pretty anxious to see you," Kon quietly pressed.

"It's nothing, really. I'm sure I'll see him again," Ichigo tried to assure, "It's not exactly a commitment…"

Kon smiled, mischief dancing in his eyes and the corners of his lips, and moved even closer.

"What?" Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, feeling that his twin bed was far too small for two people.

Kon reached down, took both of their erections in his hand, and began to pump aggressively. When he saw that Ichigo was about to start making noise, he cover the soul reaper's mouth with his other hand.

Ichigo took a firm grip on the hand cover his mouth and pulled it away, "Kon, what the fuck?"

"Please don't stop me," Kon pleaded breathlessly into Ichigo's mouth as he started another kiss. Sharing pleasure with another was almost more than he could verbally contain but if he was the one controlling the ride, he might be able to make it work.

"You're just as bad as he is," Ichigo growled back as he bucked his hips into the identical pair that were now almost on top of him.

"He has the right idea," Kon admitted and felt Ichigo tense, "unless you," he was about to give the teen another out but he was cut off.

"I can't make any promises…" Ichigo trailed off but it was enough.

Neither said anything more until after they came, panting and grasping madly at each other's bodies, moments later.

Ichigo closed his eyes and listened to see if they were was going to be another interruption. A few seconds later, he cracked an eye to take in the mod soul in his body. He looked tired but satisfied a small, stupid grin on his face. The soul reaper was about to speak but found his own hand covering his mouth once again. "What's the big idea?" he muffled.

"One more thing, then whatever, k?" Kon quickly bargained.

"What is it?"

"Do you really have that brainwashing thing he was talking about?" Kon asked nervously. Now that he had a chance to think about it, the chance of Ichigo actually having something like that was extremely small and he felt rather stupid for falling for such an obvious lie.

"No…well, not really," he tried, not wanting to lie to his companion.

"Wait, what?" Kon blinked in disbelief and actually pulled back so that he could get a better look at Ichigo's face.

Ichigo groaned and rolled his eyes. "I grabbed this candy from Urahara's shop before I knew what it was and forgot it was in my pocket until after I left. I haven't decided how to get rid of it yet. It's not as bad as he says," he added, though he did have second thoughts about that. The hollow was twisted enough and Kon was weak willed enough that they could have gotten pretty close if the circumstances were ideal, "but I'm glad it didn't come to that."

Kon was still frowning a little but he let it go. "K." He wiggled back into his boxers because Ichigo wasn't letting them snuggle anymore. "Well, now what?"

Ichigo sat up and looked at the clock and then leaned back down to speak so that he wouldn't be tempted to use more than a whisper, "I gotta go talk to the vizards. I might go today, depending on how things go."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"I'm gunna see if they'll tell me anything I don't already know about these," he hesitated for a moment as he remember what he'd heard the others call it, "episodes. Would you mind if I needed you to cover for me today?"

Kon frowned, "I guess I could do that."

"Don't tell you had plans," Ichigo rudely scoffed.

"Ha ha," Kon rolled his eyes. "Just lemme get some sleep first," he fished the stuffed lion off the floor and handed it to the other.

Ichigo took the hint and put them back into their original bodies so that they could finish sleeping. They awoke to Karin letting Ichigo know that breakfast was ready.

Before the teen could make it out the door, he had to ask, "Are you gunna go see those guys today like you said?"

"Yeah, I think so. If I don't go today, I don't think I'll get another chance for a while," the teen answered as he quickly dressed.

"Why's that?"

"'Cause I gotta go when Shinji's not there and I get the feeling," it was a little more than a feeling, "he's going out today."


	17. Conversations

Holy Crap! This chapter does not contain any sex whatsoever! however, it does answer a lot of questions so please, read on. i promise more smut in the next chapter.

* * *

Ichigo returned about an hour later to let Kon know that his dad was taking his sisters to the zoo so he didn't have to worry about covering for him. To his surprise, Kon was disappointed. "Don't tell me you actually wanted to go watch caged animals pace around," Ichigo scoffed.

"I wanna get out…and there's usually a couple cuties at the zoo," Kon informed as he flopped down on the bed.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "If I'd known, I would've said I'd go but they're on their way out the door right now."

"You could take me with you instead," he casually suggested.

"Yeah, right," the teen scoffed before heading for the shower

When Ichigo returned less than an hour later, he couldn't find the stuffed lion. Not that he really cared. If Kon was off doing something, that meant he wasn't hanging around bothering him.

"Now, now, King, that's no way to think about him. That mod soul is a valuable resource," the hollow chided but then decided to leave the soul reaper alone because he was doing what the hollow had told him to do the very first time Ichigo had and episode and that was go talk to the vizard.

Ichigo grumbled because he knew the inner demon was at least somewhat correct and got dressed.

* * *

The orange-haired teen gave a heavy sigh as he stood in the doorway of the large warehouse. Getting to the doorway had been easy; getting past it became something else entirely. He suddenly realized that if he started asking questions that they would do the same. It made him unbearably nervous and that was where he hesitated. However, he wasn't the privilege of overcoming this personal obstacle before he heard voices. That snapped him out of his intense daze.

It was Love and Rose; they were discussing music. He was surprised to find that they were actually talking about stuff he'd heard of. "Uh, hey!" he called to them as they approached.

"We were wondering if you were gunna come inside or if you were waiting for a welcome wagon," Rose teased.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Well…I've got a lot on my mind," he reluctantly admitted.

"Come on down and we'll talk about it," Love motioned back the way they came.

"You-you know why I'm here?" he asked suspiciously.

Rose cocked an eyebrow and eyed the orange-haired young man, "It's not about Shinji?"

"Well-I…" Ichigo quickly tried to defend himself but just as quickly gave up. "Forget I said anything," he grumbled.

"Already did," Love assured as they approached the others already seated roughly in a circle.

Ichigo felt unbelievably scrutinized when he got close enough to see that the others were eyeing him very carefully. "Yo," he greeted nervously.

"Cut the crap," Lisa quickly snapped. "What do you want?"

"I…" he began but hesitated for a moment to gather his thoughts and take a seat. Standing make it feel too much like he was on trial. "I wanna know about the episodes." When they remained silent, he felt compelled to continue, "What's it like for you guys? ...like in general," he added rather hastily because of how Shinji reacted to being asked about his perspective.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Kensai warned evenly.

"How often does it happen?"

"Depends on the person," Rose answered, "Anywhere between a month to six months. What about you?" he immediately shot back.

Ichigo was a little startled by the suddenness of the counter question but answered, "A few months. It's only happened a couple times or I'd be able to give a better estimate. "How long does it last?"

"Same answer, it depends," Love fielded, "Normal is anywhere between six to twelve hours. You?"

"Well," he thought for a moment and they seemed to appreciate him taking a moment to think about his answers, "I think I fit into the low end of that average."

A couple vizard nodded in approval and allowed him to ask another question.

"What's the most and least amount of time it's lasted?" he couldn't help pressing along that line.

"I have the record for least," Hachi chimed in, "Three hours. But then, you must consider that my episodes are generally among the shortest."

No one spoke for the longest so Ichigo prompted, "And the longest?"

A couple of individuals exchanged pensive looks before Kensai responded, "Shinji's are by far the longest." When Ichigo frowned, he continued, "His average is about fourteen hours and his record is over a full day."

"Can you cum without touching your penis?" Liza suddenly asked, figuring that since the young man had only experienced a small number of episodes, inquiring about those kinds of details would be pointless.

Ichigo glared at the tall girl in glasses.

"Answer her or stop asking questions," Kensai advised.

The teen rolled his eyes, "Yeah, it's happened," he admitted and then blushed furiously when the dark-haired girl grinned. "Um…Why didn't you guys say anything about this when we first met?"

Kensai laughed aloud at that but Lisa fielded that question, "We didn't want to worry you since we didn't know if it would even be a problem for you. It appears it might have been better if we had said something," she admitted but didn't apologize. "We didn't think that you would become involved with any of us so we didn't consider what effect you might have on one of us."

Ichigo nodded in understanding and something similar to approval and waited for the next intrusive question to be asked of him.

"Are you addicted to Shinji's raietsu?" Rose finally asked.

That caused the teen to pause. "I don't think so. I mean, I could tell he was having his episode today because I'm more used to tuning in his spiritual pressure and," he fidgeted for a second, "it seems to have a certain effect on me but no. I really don't think it's an addiction."

"He's addicted to me, isn't he?" Ichigo asked before he even thought about it.

"Yeah, but it's not bad," Kensai assured, "For him, one time with a person with enough raietsu is enough for that to happen so there's really nothing you could've done. The fact that he's with someone else right now and not chasing after you is a good sign."

"How many times do you cum?" Moshiro suddenly asked.

"I don't count," Ichigo nearly spat at her.

"It's okay Moshiro," Lisa chided, "I know someone we can ask if he won't tell us."

"No, really. Counting wasn't really on my mind at the time," he assured, hoping that would deter the women from asking his lovers such personal questions.

Ichigo, though he was wondering now, didn't bother to ask what the average or records on that were. He would rather move along. "Is there anything I should know?" In a way he was glad that he waited because now he knew what kinds of questions to ask. Otherwise, he would have been a babbling idiot.

There was an awkward silence.

"What?"

"There is one thing," Kensai reluctantly began.

"Kensai!" Lisa scolded.

"No. I'm gunna tell'em. This not tellin'em crap because it might not directly affect him, I'm sick of it. The second he became involved with Shinji these things began directly affecting him." He resolutely defended.

"Fine. Be that way," Lisa pretended to turn her back.

"What is it?" Ichigo pressed of the white-haired man sitting a few feet to his left.

"The hollow inside, it will be satisfied by regular sex for a while. Hopefully for you, quite a while. Then, after a while, it'll get bored."

"Bored? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means it won't be satisfied by just normal in-and-out sex for forever," Lisa haughtily clarified.

Ichigo frowned.

"You may find that you enjoy much more depraved things than you ever imagined because of the creature inside your soul," Rose warned.

"But you won't have to worry about that for quite some time. It's just something that, if it does happen, you should be able to identify it. There's no reason you shouldn't benefit from our experiences," Kensai added resolutely.

"Going back to your original point, it already affects him," Lisa parried and when she received a challenging look from her white-haired comrade she continued, turning back to Ichigo, "Shinji was practically bored with regular sex when the hollowification happened."

Kensai didn't like the way they were talking about the other former captain while he was absent but it was to Ichigo's benefit so he let it go.

"So you're saying that Shinji's incredibly depraved?" Ichigo reluctantly surmised, trying to imaging what that might mean.

"If you don't believe me, you can go see for yourself." She watched the two blondes leave together and she knew how they liked to play.

"I wouldn't recommend that," Hachi quietly advised. "Going anywhere near Shinji at this point would be cruel to him if his system is still addicted to your raietsu. Your presence could result in a less than ideal outcome."

Kensai paused for a moment, taking stock of the blonde vizard's raietsu. "He's right."

"He didn't do anything weird when he was with me," Ichigo tried to defend and then became defensive when Lisa gave an exasperated sigh. "What?" he asked impatiently.

Moshiro butted in again for a moment, "Boy, you sure don't know much about relationships, do you?"

"Cut'em some slack," Kensai ordered, "He's a human teenager. They aren't supposed to be good at relationships yet."

Ichigo didn't really care for how it was phrased, but he would take any help he could get.

"It takes a little bit to get comfortable enough to open up like that to someone. Showing that side of oneself…" Lisa explained but trailed off. "He didn't want to scare you off."

Ichigo didn't like it, but she was right. If Shinji had done anything too out of the ordinary, it really would have slowed things down.

"Who have you been with for your episodes?" Lisa asked for the counter-question.

"I'm not answering that," Ichigo answered evenly.

Lisa looked to Kensai, the one who had sided with her before but found no support this time.

"Ask something else," the white-haired man ordered.

The spectacled woman sighed in exasperation while she thought it over however, Kensai had a question of his own.

"Do you wanna asked us specifically about Shinji or are you here for more personal reasons?" he asked seriously. He had expected the teen to dive right into probing questions about the blonde's personal life and the generality of the questions being asked threw him off.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, "Well, yeah kinda…but kinda no. I wanna know but I think it'd be better if I found out from him." He'd learned that from Urahara but he wasn't going to tell them that part. "So, anything I can learn about myself and you guys, I wanna hear it." Not the most eloquent response but it seemed to do the trick. "So…" the teen tentatively continued, "how depraved are we talkin' here?" His hollow had gotten stuck on that and was already trying to imagine all the bizarre things the blonde vizard might like.

"Most BDSM-type stuff," Lisa answer offhandedly, "some exhibitionism…oh, and I think we've all had some pretty strange fetishes."

Ichigo appeared impossibly uncomfortable by what she was say and how casually she was saying it.

"Have you done anything kinky like that?" Moshiro asked.

"No, of course not!" he lied. Well, it was mostly true, sort of. As far as he could tell, most of the actual sex he had was pretty normal and, if you rule out his 'lessons', he didn't really care for strange or unusual sex practices. He was obviously rationalizing, but who could blame him.

"How dull," the green-haired vizard complained and then stopped paying attention again.

"I don't suppose there are any ways around it, or short cuts, or anything that makes it easier," he grumbled.

"No short cuts except straight through it," Kensai advised resolutely and the other readily agreed. "And nothing makes it easier except just dealing with it."

"I've heard some people talk about items that suppress a person's raietsu. Have you tried anything like that?" Ichigo had to ask and pray that the arrancar weren't the only ones with that kind of technology.

"We messed around with stuff like that for a while," Kensai admitted.

"And?"

Hachi was next to pick up from there, "The benefits never seemed to be worth the sacrifices."

"Sacrifices?" As far as he knew, with the power restricting wrist rings, there had been no adverse effects…well, none that he could directly blame on the rings.

"Well, there were only two that seemed to do anything and they both had their flaws," the large man continued. "They were both things that someone could wear to reduce the effect their raietsu had on another. One worked by drawing the wearer's raietsu out undirected. The constant draw on their raietsu has the potential to drain too much. The other was the opposite, sealing the energy within the individual. As you can imagine, that is extremely dangerous especially if the one wearing it is experience the episode or doesn't have good enough control over their raietsu."

Ichigo frowned. The pink-haired espada probably used the first option without really caring for Ichigo's safety as long as he didn't just die from it.

"That was like three questions, wasn't it?" Moshiro teased.

"I think we can call that one question," Hachi assured and wasn't sure what to say when the green-haired woman began pouting and throwing a little fit, which no one else seemed inclined to pay attention to.

"Then I have one big question to ask," Lisa informed.

"What's that?" Ichigo was a little taken aback by her need to announce it.

"Do you actually want to be with Shinji or are you just in it for the sex?"

Ichigo frowned again. "Does that matter?" he was afraid of tipping his hand and tried to dodge.

"Actually," Kensai gave him a regretful look, "it does. If you have genuine feelings for each other, things can get complicated."

"Well?" Moshiro prompted impatiently of the orange-haired vizard.

"Well-I-um…" he blushed furiously and couldn't find his words.

"So you do," Kensai laughed a little at how flustered Ichigo suddenly became, "He wasn't expecting that, I'm sure."

"Yeah, he mentioned that," Ichigo replied dryly.

"Shinji has always been very casual about sex so don't take it personally," Rose advised.

Ichigo wasn't sure if he should tell them that it wasn't the sex or the strange draw of the other vizard's raietsu that made his interest in him develop. It had been because of how kind and receptive Shinji had been toward him. It had been the considerations, large and small, that the blonde took into account. But above all, it had been the older man's emphasis on their relationship, the fact that Shinji considered Ichigo one of his nakama and that he expected the teen to feel the same way. Instead, he asked a question along a different line. "What's it like to be addicted to someone else?"

None of them seemed inclined to answer that as readily as the other questions he posed but, before he could retract his question in favor of a more comfortable subject, a small voice spoke.

"It makes them crazy." It was Hiyori and she was walking out from behind one of the smaller rocks a few feet from their circle, a sad and serious look on her face. .

Ichigo had noticed that she wasn't there but figured that since she didn't experience the episodes, it was because she didn't care. He should have known better.

"You're not supposed to be here," Kensai reminded dryly, totally unamused by her rather dramatic entrance into their conversation.

"I know. I don't care anymore." Translation: She was tired of being left out, even though she didn't completely understand what was going on. She took a seat across the circle from the orange-haired soul reaper. "You'll notice," she looked him in the eye, "that they aren't arguing with me."

That made Ichigo laugh, and more than a little.

"What's so funny?" the small blonde demanded, nearly rising from her seat with the irritation of not being taken as seriously as she would have preferred.

"Of course it does," he told her plainly. "When it happens to me…I feel so out of my mind that I can't stand it. I can't imagine what it would be like if it were any worse than what I've dealt with, that's why I'm asking."

There was a collective sigh of relief at the young man's answer. Sure, it wasn't as well spoken as it could have been but that only served to make it more eloquent to the ears of the rogue faction.

"Sometimes, it does really feel like you're losing your mind though," Lisa added with as detached a tone as she could manage. "With the way it works, it's strange," was all she able to say without further prompting.

"Please, I have to know what's happening to him," Ichigo nearly begged.

"Then you should talk to him about it," Moshiro smartly suggested.

"He doesn't wanna talk about it either…not that I blame any of you but not knowing is killing me." Ichigo tried to reason.

"Say, for example," Lisa tried again, "that Kensai decide that we wanna fool around for a while, just he and I."

Kensai tried to look like he didn't care that he was part of her hypothetical since she seemed to be off to a better start this time.

"If he has his episode first, then I will start to feel the addiction first, because of all the raietsu he'd be pouring into me. But that's not to say he wouldn't feel it to. It would just be later, when I had my next episode. He would then feel the same attraction that I would be feeling. You can see how it could escalate quickly from there." A short breath to collect her thoughts and she continued. "For me, it's like a little tingle whenever I sense that person in anyway and a nagging pain when they are away." Then she thought for a moment. "If it's one-sided, like if I found someone with enough raietsu to be with, 'cause you can really hurt somebody if you're not careful and they aren't strong enough, that wasn't one of us…I would continue to have these feelings but my partner wouldn't."

"Th-thank you," Ichigo barely spoke but with the sincerest of tones. He was totally in awe of her at that point and overwhelmingly pleased by how forthright she was being.

"Yer not tellin'em about the part where you guys practically kill each other for sex," Hiyori haughtily interjected, ruining the moment and making Ichigo nervous once again.

Kensai saw the look on Ichigo's face, "Stuff like that only happens when we're not careful. Nothing like that has happened for a long time." It seemed to put the young man more at ease.

"Oh, there is one thing that I think makes it a little easier sometimes," Lisa carefully began and her confidence grew when she gain the young vizard's full attention. She waited for him to ask before divulging.

"What's that?"

"If you have more than one partner, you know, spread the love around," she informed with a sly glint in her eyes that only seemed to twinkle more when another round of rosy blush rose to the orange-haired teen's cheeks.

Moshiro asked the question before Lisa could, "Have you ever done that?" she asked with marked impatience.

"What?" Ichigo asked incredulously, "Um, no…no, of course not," he lied again.

Lisa scrunched up her nose and eyed the teen carefully as she approached, "I don't believe you."

"Doesn't matter. He answered the question." Kensai informed resolutely. "Sit back down."

Before she could argue more, Ichigo spoke again. "I just have one more thing."

"What's that?" Lisa asked, not bothering to take her seat as advised.

"I think my hollow almost took control last time. I mean, it was pretty easy to stop it but it was really close to happening." He stated.

"That's a fun fact, not a question," the spectacled woman nearly spat.

"Oh yeah, sorry," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he tried to form it into a question. "I guess I'm asking…is that bad? I'm assuming it is."

"Usually, yes, that is bad. The whole idea is to keep the beast satisfied enough to stay inside. However, if you are with the right person, or in your case I'd say _people_, and it happens, it might not be a total disaster," Lisa answered.

Ichigo blushed again at the insinuation. "K, thanks." He couldn't even make eye contact with her.

"So, that's it? We're done here?" Moshiro sprung to her feet and ran off toward the television.

"Uh, yeah I guess. Thanks," Ichigo said again for good measure.

"I'll walk you out," Kensai offered.

Ichigo nodded and they took off toward the ramp.

When they were away from the others, Kensai spoke in a quiet voice. "I think he likes you too so don't be so worried about his attitude," he began.

Ichigo smiled, "Thanks. Actually, that was the one thing we did talk about, sorta. Well, enough to get it straightened out. It's all the rest of that stuff that he doesn't wanna talk about."

Kensai nodded. "There is one thing that I wanted to talk to you about in private," now it was his turn to have a difficult time with eye contact.

"What is it?"

"You should know that because Shinji is having an episode right now, I can feel residual amounts of his raietsu on you." He answered evenly.

"I guess that makes sense. So you guys can tell who each other has been with like that?" he asked, somewhat anxious.

"Don't worry," they were nearly at the entrance, Kensai knew he had to make his move soon or it would be too late, "I think I'm the only one who can feel it this time." He stopped and turned to the young man.

"Why's that?" Ichigo felt pinned and he knew it wasn't just from the intense look the white-haired man was giving him.

"I was Shinji's lover before you." He informed and didn't realize that he'd backed the young man up against a wall until it was already too late.

"I had a feeling…" Ichigo mumbled and when Kensai cocked a curious eyebrow, he elaborated, "I can sense him on you too." He swallowed hard. "Is that why…I'm really attracted to you right now?" However, instead of listening to the answer, he leaned forward and brought their lips together when the older man parted his to speak.

Kensai made a slight sound of confusion but it only lasted a split second before he was pushing Ichigo against the wall with his body.

A few heated moments later and the kiss was broken as they started violently gasping for air.

"Um, yeah, that'd be why." Kensai stepped away after a few awkward seconds.

Ichigo gave a sheepish smile. "I can deal with that."

The white-haired vizard nodded in approval and led the teen the rest of the way out.

"Thanks again," Ichigo said.

"It's okay. You just have to understand that these kinds of things are never ideal." Kensai advised.

The orange-haired vizard nodded in affirmation. He already knew that but it was nice to hear it from someone else.

"Remember," he told Ichigo as he sent him on his way, "you are welcome here and we don't pass judgment."

Ichigo left without another word. They gave him so much to think about that his head was spinning. On top of that, he could feel Shinji's energy building toward an immense peak. It was all very distracting and he actually screamed when he turned the corner and ran into a certain stuffed lion.

"Ow! Hey, there you are!" Kon leapt to his feet and jumped on the teen.

"What the hell are you doing here? And where were you this morning?" he tried to pull the clingy plushy off but only manage to make it so that they were less conspicuous.

"I was tryin' to follow you but for quite a while there I couldn't feel your spiritual pressure," Kon complained.

"Why were you following me?" Ichigo gave an exasperated sigh.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ichigo gave another sigh of exasperation.

"Are you mad?" Kon asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah!" the teen tried not to yell.

"Then that makes you a hypocrite!" Kon cross his arms and looked away.

Ichigo gave his signature scowl.

"I have almost as much right to know about that stuff as you do," Kon continued to press.

"Okay, fine! Damn it!" He took Kon for a very long walk through the park during which he tried to remember the details of their conversation, leaving out the part about the good-bye kiss because he was still trying to sort out his feelings toward that.

When it was all over, Kon had but one question, "What are you going to do now?"

Ichigo sighed again, he seemed to be doing that a lot today. He decided that it was because he was being forced to think too much which meant it was time for action. But what? "I really want to go see Shinji," he almost whined.

"Isn't that a bad idea? I mean you two are supposed to cool it, remember? Or are you jealous?" he playfully nudged.

"Yeah, it's probably a bad idea. But I just wanna see him, what he's doing and who he's with."

"I see. You wanna know what he didn't think he could do with you, is that it?" the mod soul surmised.

Ichigo pursed his lips. "Yeah…but even that's probably a bad idea."

"Well, I dunno about that. One peek couldn't hurt, right?" Kon was now perched on the teen's left shoulder.

Ichigo hesitated.

"From the sounds of it, it's probably nothing you'd like anyway, right?" he continued.

"I hate you so much." Ichigo informed and started slowly toward the Urahara Shop.


	18. Date pt 3

Ichigo didn't really realize Shinji's trail of raietsu led to the candy shop until he was almost there and he almost kicked himself for not realizing it sooner. He experienced a strange sensation when he tried looking into the shopkeeper's bedroom window and his anxiety only grew when he saw no one inside. A frustrated grumble later and he was knocking on the front door because it was better than trying to sneak inside. Luckily, he had convinced Kon that if he wanted to stay with Ichigo he had to be quiet. Because the mod soul was so interested in what was going on he hardly minded obeying the demeaning order.

Things got off to a bad start when Kisuke answered the door with a very disappointed look on his face.

"It's not what you think," Ichigo was quick to defend as he tried to subtly maneuver his way inside the building.

It did no good. The shaggy blonde had no intention of allowing the young man even a centimeter inside the door. "If that's not why you're here, then it can wait. Please, leave." He told the teen evenly, hoping that would be sufficient.

"And if it is?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"Then you should leave even faster," the blonde's tone was suddenly very authoritative.

"Look, I know that you are doing things with him that he doesn't think he can do with me. And he's probably right," the teen added with both haste and reluctance. "I-I just wanna small peek. I know I can't do anything."

Kisuke gave an exasperated sigh. "I really don't think that's wise. At the _very least_, what if you don't like what you see?"

"I promise not to judge," he quickly replied.

The shopkeeper gave his unwanted guest a suspicious look, "You went and talked to them, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the advice," he tried being genuinely grateful toward the older man.

Kisuke still appeared suspicious and was unwilling to grant the much desired access. "Why are you here, Ichigo? And why is Kon here?"

"I just told you why I'm here and he was following me," the teen gave him an impatient look. "Please? It's not like he hasn't spied on us." One of the few times that he had gotten to talk to Shinji after Ichigo's most recent episode, the blonde vizard had let slip that he had taken a sneak peek quite a while before barging in on them.

That was what made the man casually defending the door to give enough for Ichigo to slip inside. "Where is he?"

"What's the rush?" He wanted to make sure that he hadn't mistaken Ichigo's lack of addiction.

"Well, isn't it mean to leave him for too long? Or is there someone else here? Besides, the longer I stay, the worse for him, right?" he asked with a barely disguised hopefulness.

"No. It's just me. And I suppose you're right, we shouldn't keep him waiting." He led his new guest back to the bedroom.

Ichigo didn't say anything but there was a definite disturbance that showed on his face when he saw the door on the wall that should have simply led outside. Kisuke put his hand on the knob but turned back to get a good look at the anxious soul reaper.

"If you hurt his feelings because I let you in here, I'll never forgive you," Kisuke told him with utter seriousness.

"Yeah," Ichigo swallowed hard, "okay." He nodded in approval.

With a sigh, of what sounded like regret, Kisuke opened the door and led the young man inside. Ichigo gasped, blinking stupidly while bringing his hand to cover his gaping mouth.

Shinji still hung helplessly from his wrists, gagged, blindfolded, his nipples and erection clearly visible in spite of the fact that he was almost fully clothed. He was shaking ever so slightly, a light humming could be heard accompanied by an erratic jingling, and a thin stream of white fluid dripped steadily from beneath the skirt. He gave three muffled syllables before the thin stream gushed for a moment and then waned to only the occasional drip.

"As long as you don't yell, he won't be able to hear what we're saying," Kisuke advised as he went over to the blonde barely kneeling on the bed. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the drool that started to run from the corners of the vizard's mouth due to the gag and then a few of the larger beads of sweat that had yet to roll down his skin.

Ichigo, though he was glad for the freedom in his speech, wasn't sure what to say so, he took a closer look to find the reason why they wouldn't be heard. He was taken aback by the measures that the shopkeeper had taken to keep the blonde vizard restrained and quickly realized that level of sensory deprivation was not something he thought he could handle. When he did finally speak, he was even less sure of himself than when he entered. "He knows I'm here, doesn't he?"

"Of course. He knew the moment you entered this room." That was as close as he was going to get to saying that the teen's presence, on top of everything else, had caused the older vizard to orgasm when they entered.

"I can't touch him, can I?" he asked knowingly and with marked disappointment.

"No touching," Kisuke assured.

"Why is he wearing a skirt?" Ichigo asked as he took a step back, hoping a safe distance would keep him from lifting said skirt to see the teasing pleasures beneath.

"Don't you like it?" Kisuke also took a step back so that he could see his old friend from the younger's perspective.

"I…" was as far as he got before another plaguing question arose, "What's jingling?"

Kisuke gave a sly grin but didn't answer. "You've seen what you came here to see. I think you should go now so we can finish." Then, he made sure it was obvious that he was examining Ichigo, especially his partial erection while waiting to see what kind of response he was going to receive.

Ichigo was just turning to leave when he felt a very soft elbow nudging the side of his head. It was, of course, Kon. They made eye contact for a moment and even though no emotion could be read through the plastic beads the mod soul used for eyes, Ichigo knew what he wanted.

"Gimme your body," the mod soul requested quietly, "I wanna stay." Then he looked at his creator, "Please? If that's okay?"

Kisuke gave Ichigo, who was apparently made speechless by the request, an expecting look.

It took what felt like forever for Ichigo to decide what he wanted to do. "Is it okay?" he rolled his eyes.

Kon was practically jumping for joy at that point but barely held back as he waited for confirmation.

If Kisuke had not just practically incapacitated Shinji once again before answering the door, he would have turned them away. However, now the vizard was once again incapable of effectively entertaining himself so a little unexpected extra help might just be what the doctor ordered. "Yes, as long as you listen to every word I say. You can't just do whatever you want," he warned while on his way back over to the bed.

"I can do that," he eagerly agreed before Ichigo extracted the green candy and swallowed it.

The transfer and the feeling of Ichigo's spiritual pressure unfiltered by his human body made Shinji moan and spill himself weakly once again.

"Oh, my!" Kisuke pretended to fret as he untied the knot on the bedpost, allowing the vizard's body to sag. With that extra leeway, he retied the knot and repositioned Shinji so that he was somewhat sitting, nearly resting on the vibrator, with his legs spread, his erection teasingly tenting the loose fabric of the skirt.

Shinji barely leaned into the touches he was receiving, easily allowing himself to be moved however the other desired and was rewarded by having the ear plugs removed. Suddenly every sound was incredibly distinct and louder than it should have been.

"Shinji, it seems we have a playmate," he motioned for Kon to come over to the bed, to which he readily obliged.

The gagged blonde made a few more muffled sounds, most likely involuntary noises since most speech was likely to be beyond him at this point. However, a moment later, that too was removed. "I-Ich..Ichi…" he mumbled.

"No, I'm afraid he's just getting ready to leave," Kisuke not-so-subtly hinted. He turned to Kon. "Keep him happy while I walk Kurosaki-kun to the door," he ordered.

Kon gave a nod before starting to explore the hypersensitive, barely coherent vizard's body. "Can I take some of this stuff off?" he asked after moving from playing with the buttons of Shinji's tight white shirt to examine what was under the skirt.

Kisuke was already corralling Ichigo out of the room, "Do what you like as long as he likes it too," he waved on, taking the orange-haired soul reaper by the shoulders, turning him, and marching him out of the strange room.

Ichigo got as good a look as he could, but it wasn't much. He had already been turned around when the hem of the skirt was lifted past the point of exposure. He did, however, hear the slight jingling again as he was being guided out the door.

Once they were standing in his bedroom, Kisuke turned to Ichigo. He wanted to get a good look at the teen and not only for his own selfish purposes. His cheeks were rosy, but only with confused arousal and awkward embarrassment. His eyes had their normally bright luster beneath furrowed eyebrows. Since it was obvious that Ichigo, although attracted to Shinji, was not addicted to him, it made the young soul reaper look god damned adorable.

"Satisfied?" Kisuke asked mischievously as he led the teen out.

"Um…thank you. I really mean that. I know you didn't have to do that."

"I probably shouldn't have but it appears that you were being genuine so there's no harm done," the shopkeeper complied.

"So…he likes that?" Ichigo asked, just to make sure.

"Kurosaki-kun, he picked out all of those things himself," the shopkeeper lied, somewhat. It was true that he had added a few things but only for the betterment of the experience.

Ichigo was obviously taken aback by that and didn't speak again until he realized that he was outside again. "Thanks."

"Good night, Ichigo," Kisuke didn't wait for a response before closing the door.

* * *

While they were gone, Kon made sure that he fulfilled his task of being entertaining. He took Shinji's face in his hands and brought their lips together in a wet, clumsy, and very heated kiss. The blonde kissed back as best he could and found it difficult to keep up with the familiar-feeling stranger.

Kon pulled away after a few moments, leaving Shinji gasping for breath. The hands on his skin, that mouth on his, they felt like Ichigo's. The person kissing him even tasted and smelled like Ichigo but he could tell by the movements and touches of the stranger that it was definitely not the soul reaper he craved. But then, who? The answer would generally have come more quickly but, considering the circumstances, he did quite well.

"K-…Kon?" he asked carefully, hoping that if he was wrong that the other would forgive him.

The sound of his own name caused the mod soul to pause. "You remember my name?" Now he was even more excited.

Shinji just whined and tried to force more contact between them to little avail. He had been a little surprised that he actually retained the name himself. However, the time he spent thinking about how lucky Ichigo was to have a mod soul like Kon was probably what made it stick.

Kon placed a hand on the center of Shinji's chest to steady him, "What do you want?"

"Blow me…please," he blurted out. He wasn't even done speaking before he felt the order being obeyed.

Kon removed the bell quickly but moved a little more slowly in removing the vibrators than he would have liked but he was afraid of snapping the elastic that held them in place, which would no doubt be unspeakably painful for the one he was supposed to please. However, once all that was out of his way, he was on his stomach, trying to swallow as much of the overly engorged member as he could.

It wasn't long after that Kisuke returned and was very pleased by what he saw. He let Kon go for a few more minutes, until there was cum dribbling down his chin from trying to keep going, as per Shinji's urgent and babbling requests, while also attempting to swallow the fluid that was quickly flooding his mouth.

"Kon, stop for a moment," Kisuke told him quietly.

Shinji whined when the mod soul readily obeyed another.

"Shhh…it's okay," the shopkeeper soothed, moving around to the other side of the bed. He didn't give any warning before pulling the end of the rope, effectively untying it in one motion.

Kon barely caught Shinji as his muscles failed under his own weight. "Urahara-san, why is he so weak?" One of his most distinct memories about his time in the bathroom, just down the hall, with Ichigo was the vizard's incredible strength.

With his new guest supporting the majority of his original guest's weight, he unfastened the clip keeping the vizard's wrist cuffs attached to the rope and pulley system.

"He drugged me," Shinji barely answered, unaware of how close his lips were to Kon's ear until he felt a shiver run down his spine.

That made butterflies rise up in Kon's stomach.

"To make you easier to handle," Kisuke casually added before rejoining the more sensual activities on the bed.

The offhandedness of this exchange still made Kon nervous but since it appeared the shopkeeper had no intention of doing that to him, he let it go. Instead, he started stroking the erection that was eagerly pressing and grinding against his thighs, stomach, wherever the vizard could reach. Before he could say or do anything else, Kisuke was settling in behind Shinji and pulling the vizard into his arms until his back rested on his old comrade's chest. He pulled Shinji's arms up and over both their heads until the vizard's hands rested on Kisuke's back.

"You can go back to what you were doing now," Kisuke told the mod soul who obliged without a word. Now that he was able to rest on his knees instead of his stomach, he was able to provide an even greater level of attention. This time he was able to massage the base of his shaft, as he had yet to be able to take that much into his mouth and throat, as well as his balls, even occasionally venturing low enough to play with the vibrator stuck inside.

When Shinji started to react with an even greater level of desperation to the attentions from the one between his legs, Kisuke decided to make another move. He unbuttoned the too-tight white dress shirt and oh-so-carefully started to play with Shinji's abused but largely neglected nipples.

The bound blonde kicked involuntarily at the feeling of the other man's hands on his nipples. He could tell that he wasn't being rough, but after having his nipples pinched in clamps for a fair portion of his day sure made it feel like it. It was enough to make Kon back off for a moment to see what was wrong but before he could say anything, another order was made.

"Hand me that bottle to your right," Kisuke commanded but it was so casual that it didn't really sound like he was being very bossy.

Kon did as he was told before going back to orally pleasuring the vizard. This time, however, he kept a close eye upward to see what the mischievous shopkeeper was up to.

"I'm sorry. I nearly forgot about these," Kisuke lightly flicked the clamp on Shinji's left nipple and watched and listened for the sounds that told him he was achieving just the right balance of pleasure and pain for his former comrade. He was close.

The vizard gave a sharp gasp when he felt the minty oil being poured on his chest, drizzling over his nipples.

As he rubbed some of the extra oil into Shinji's skin, he spoke in a dark voice into his ear, "I made sure not to put them on too tight…" he pulled a little on the side of one of the clamps before letting it practically snap back into place, "but this should help get them off," he assured in the least assuring voice he could manage. Then, he spoke to their third again, "Kon, stop."

Kon didn't want to stop. The vizard was behaving too deliciously to want to stop now so he gave a test show of defiance and kept going.

Kisuke rolled his eyes. "I said stop," he informed, more resolutely before snatching up his cane from where it hung on the bed post. He bopped the mod soul on the head and then used the extra reach to push him away.

Seeing that Kisuke really wasn't going to let him continue, Kon reluctantly withdrew. To his surprise, he was thanked for his compliance rather than punished for his former resistance. Then, he was rewarded with the sight and sound of Shinji violently coming as Kisuke popped the clamps off his nipples.

Kon awed while Kisuke grinned and held the vizard in a tight and protective embrace. "I love that," he kissed Shinji on the side of the head and then unfastened the straps securing the vibrator.

Shinji wiggled as the object slid out of his body, "Fuck me…now…" he mumbled, his cock still slowly dripping his orgasm.

"You are so impatient," Kisuke teased, tossing the toys that had been removed from the vizard's body into the pile. "But I suppose it's about time for that."

"Wh-What do you want me to do, Urahara-san?" Kon cautiously asked.

Kisuke gave his creation a soft smile. "Kon, have I ever told you how sweet you are?" He laid Shinji down and started rummaging through what was left in the bag.

"Excuse me?" Kon blinked stupidly.

"You are quite possibly one of my sweetest confections," he informed with a bragging tone. When he pulled a cock ring from the bag, he continued. "I want you to sit back for a few minutes while I get him ready for you."

Shinji moaned at the idea.

"You're not gunna…?" Kon wasn't going to argue but the question rose to his lips before he could even think about it.

"Oh, don't be silly. Of course I will. We're going to take turns."


	19. Date pt 4

"Oh, don't be silly. Of course I will. We're going to take turns." His tone was practically conversational as he undressed and attached the cock ring to the base of his shaft, making sure everything was just right. He could barely stifle his laughter at the look that Kon gave him. There were so many emotions that it was difficult to get a really good read on what the mod soul was thinking but one thing was for sure, he certainly didn't seem to mind the idea.

"Can I watch you?" he asked with renewed eagerness.

"You can do whatever you like as long as it doesn't interfere with what I'm doing." Kisuke made sure the vizard got a good drink of water before starting into him again.

Kon moved off the bed but made sure that his vantage point allowed him a very good perspective. He watched with bated breath as the shaggy blonde sat in the middle of the bed and pulled Shinji into his lap so that they were facing one another with their arms and legs wrapped around one another. He tested the writhing man's opening with the tips of his fingers. Pleased by what he found, he made sure the vizard was wet enough before penetrating him.

"Oh, Kisu…finally, yes!" Shinji raved, clinging as best he could to his comrade, friend, and lover. He leaned forward, resting his head on the other man's shoulder because his muscles were worn and weak and the blindfold was starting to get to him again. It was difficult to count the number of times he came from that firm grip on his hips and the accompanying pounding because of how closely his peaks came and how long they lasted. They seemed to string together in relentlessly crashing waves of ecstasy.

"See how good it can be when you let me take my time?" Kisuke teased while nibbling on his friend's ear.

"You've been at it since six," Shinji feebly complained, though they both knew he wasn't really complaining. There was no denying at this point how much he appreciated the other's undivided attention.

"Actually," Kisuke argued between breaths, "It was closer to seven when we really got started…"

Shinji wanted to argue that _actually_ it was closer to five because that was when he first saw his lover and really started reacting to his raietsu but he was too far gone.

"Six…this morning?" Kon stammered from a few feet away as he looked down at Ichigo's watch. "It's almost six now," he barely informed.

"Good," Kisuke replied, "That means he only has a couple hours left." When he noticed that the mod soul's jaw had dropped in response he continued, "That's why we have to take turns."

Kon decided that was a good time to back off a little bit. Sure, he was excited. In fact, he was so excited about the situation that he was starting to become unsure of himself. He knew he wanted to do something and because of his inexperience, he wasn't quite sure yet what that something was. So, instead of fretting over that, he took in as much as he could. He took a couple of steps back and after another few moments of careful observation, he noticed something. He already knew that Shinji's raietsu was working overtime and that was taxing Kisuke's as well as his own but over time a sort of pattern started to appear. The fluctuations he felt didn't seem to be random outbursts of spiritual pressure anymore, but more like a rather regular fluidic exchange of energies. Suddenly, he was very grateful for how perceptive the shopkeeper had made him.

Briefly, he wondered if Ichigo had made this realization or maybe if someone told him. He hadn't mentioned it earlier that day when they were delving into the intimate details of the situation and he knew as well as anybody that the young man's spiritual perception skills were severely lacking. Then, something caught his attention. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed the bag sitting to one side of the bed, but it was the first time he felt compelled to see why it was there.

Only taking his eyes off the writhing pair of blondes when he had to, the mod soul deftly moved around the bed and snatched up the bag. On his way, he also noticed a pile of apparently used sex toys so he wasn't too surprise to find that there were a few left inside. The first thing to catch his attention was an obviously too large dildo; apparently someone was feeling a little over zealous. The next was a collapsible spreader bar, yeah like that was at all necessary. The other items were much less assuming. A regular bottle of lubricant, a peacock feather on a long stick, and a gel ring with a small vibrator attached.

Kon's attention was suddenly pulled back to the pair when he heard actual words come from one of them. It was, of course, Kisuke.

"I'm sorry, I have to…it's starting to hurt," he breathily apologized.

Shinji weakly shook his head 'no' but couldn't stop his partner from unclasping the ring blocking his release.

Both former captains came hard, the obvious result of the release of an inordinate amount of pent up energy. Kon couldn't help gawking at the way Shinji tried to keep going while Kisuke was obviously incapable. The shaggy blonde carefully withdrew. It took a significant amount of force to do so with the way the other was clinging to him. "Kon," he called when he realized that Shinji had regained enough of his strength to hold him. It took significant effort but it could be done.

Shinji felt the bed being jumped on, a presence behind him, and sure hands lifting and spreading his knees before someone was inside him again. His back arched and he reached blindly for his new partner with his cuffed hands when he started to cum again, an altogether futile motion that just made him even more difficult to hold on to.

"T-touch y-…want to," Shinji pleaded.

"Here," Kisuke returned to the beside for a moment, "I don't think you need these anymore," he informed while removing the wrist cuffs.

As soon as they were off, Kon felt needy hands on his borrowed body. One grasped at his arm while the other took a hold of his hair and pulled him downward. He brought their faces close and when Kon finished the motion with a deep kiss, he released the painful grip on the messy orange hair in favor of moving his hand downward to help their frantic movements.

Shinji's next peak was almost enough to send Kon over the edge as well. He wasn't sure how he was holding out, as he did not have his orgasm physically obstructed. The violent spasms that rocked the vizard's body sent them crashing forward and Shinji was glad that Kon seemed to know better than to stop because of it. Instead, he released the blonde's knees and took hold of his newly freed wrists, pulling backward and using that leverage to push harder and deeper.

Unfortunately, Kon couldn't last much longer than that and nearly collapsed on top of the one he was holding up. So that he wouldn't, he released the vizard only to find himself on his back not a second later. There was a strong hand suddenly on his chest, pinning him to the soft mattress, while the blonde tore off the blindfold.

The mod soul's breath caught in his throat when he saw the look in the vizard's eyes. He could tell there was no sense left in the man, only burning need. Kon then breathed an inward sigh of relief when he saw that there was no black at all staining the whites of the blonde's eyes. However, they were still glassy with single-minded purpose and lust. His breath caught again when he felt the vizard's anxious length trying to push inside him. Instinctively, he recoiled. It was too sudden and he wasn't ready.

Shinji gave an audible growl as he looked from what he was aiming for to the teen's face. He was about to resort to violence but they were saved when Kisuke called in a sweet voice, "Shin-chan, it's my turn, remember?"

Kon and Shinji broke their intense eye contact to look at the shopkeeper, who happened to be sitting across the bed with his legs open, waiting. A split second later and Shinji was back on his old comrade, who had taken the time during his short break to get himself ready for what was inevitably the next stage.

A carnal moan tore through them both when Shinji entered his old friend, pinning him to the mattress under his weight. Just before the vizard established his rhythm again, Kisuke tossed a small plastic bottle at Kon. It was the lubricant from the bottle and what the shopkeeper had used to prepare himself for his frantic friend. The mod soul took the not-so-subtle hint, finding a seat out of reach of the pair.

Kon had been excited about the encounter as soon as they'd entered the room. Now that he got a taste of the vicious relentlessness, he was less sure of himself. However, he knew that he would sooner get thrown out of the strange room than simply try to leave. So, he sat back, legs spread, with the fingers of one lubricated hand testing his opening. As he did, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the blonde lovers only feet away.

Kisuke's arms and legs were wrapped tightly around Shinji, his face buried in the vizard's neck and shoulder. Kon couldn't see it, but the shopkeeper was getting harder with each thrust and creeping toward another release. Shinji had one arm wrapped around the body beneath him, while the other was planted on the mattress for leverage. He was leaned forward as he rested on his knees, his face also occasionally buried in the other's neck. But more frequently, the vizard's head was thrown back with incoherent cries of pleasure, which were quickly becoming hoarse.

It didn't take much of this spectacle before Kon felt his erection starting to stir again. There was a moment there when he thought it wouldn't be possible, not that that idea was much a deterrent. Kon craved physical contact of any kind, he wasn't about to pass it up just because he wouldn't get off again. Letting the needy man take so much pleasure in him was reward in itself. Needless to say, he was pleased when felt blood slowly start to pool in his groin once again, every heartbeat gradually increasing the pressure.

Kon watched Shinji slide in and out of the body beneath him as he stretched himself. The more he tested the resistance of his own tight ring of muscle, the more he began to long for it to be him beneath the vizard taking the severe but obviously delicious pounding. Briefly, he hoped that Ichigo wouldn't be angry if he was walking funny for the next day or so. However, that train of thought was quickly dispelled when Kisuke's moans started to get louder and more desperate.

That was when Kon decided to move a little to get a slightly different vantage point and noticed that the shopkeeper was hard nearly to the point of orgasm again. He bit his lip, knowing that it would soon be his turn again.

The mod soul was so distracted that he was nearly pushed out of the way when Kisuke decided to change positions, rolling them over so that he was on top. "Shinji, I can't last much longer," the shopkeeper warned.

"Mmmm," Shinji whined, "Don't leave me, Kisu." He took as firm a grip on his lover's hips as he could both as a precaution and for emphasis.

"Oh, don't worry," he soothed, continuing to ride the vizard, "I'm confident that Kon is more than capable of helping you finish."

Then, for the first time since the shaggy blonde had called him over, Shinji look at Kon again. "He looks scared," he winced.

Kon wasn't exactly cared. Intimidated, yes. Unsure of himself, certainly. "I'm not scared of you," he tried to sound a little tougher than he felt. "I'll do whatever you wanna."

"See?" Kisuke felt his release coming and faster than he hoped.

Shinji, even through everything else, still showed the slightest traces of doubt in his features.

Kon crawled around and pinned Shinji's shoulders to the mattress. He wanted to make sure that his next words were taken as seriously as he meant them. "Whatever you want, I'll do it," he informed resolutely.

Shinji, still slamming his hips upward into his old comrade, tore his eyes from the upside-down chocolate brown pair that were peering down at him to look at the one still giving him pleasure. "Make it so he can't leave," he ordered.

Kisuke rolled his eyes. He was afraid of something like that. Now that Kon had directly asked with Shinji wanted, there was no way they could deny him if accommodating him was at all possible.

Kon visibly started at the order but quickly recovered, "That's fine. I wasn't gunna leave anyway," he sounded even more confident than he expected.

"Put the cuffs on then," Kisuke ordered the mod soul, who only hesitated for a second before complying. "And fasten them to the hook."

While Kon did that Kisuke leaned down over the one still penetrating him. "Don't you worry," he slipped his hand beneath the blankets and pulled out a piece of parchment with indiscernible characters on it. "I'll make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Another few thrusts later and he couldn't hold back anymore, spilling himself, though there wasn't much left, between their bodies. He relished the way that his release rocked his partner's body as well before slapping the paper onto the vizard's forehead.

The eyes of the man on his back screamed but his body stopped moving and Kisuke quickly dismounted. Shinji's raietsu was already starting to burn away the edges of the ward so he didn't have much time. Once Kon managed to attach himself to the hook, Kisuke raised him up and after taking a moment to attach the spreader bar to the mod soul's ankles, he slid Shinji's body between Ichigo's legs.

Kisuke barely caught Shinji's hips when the ward completely burned away. "Is this acceptable?"

"Perfect," the vizard growled, grabbing Kon, and straining to push himself inside.

With that, Kisuke let go and the vizard's hips flew upward. He was a little startled by Kon's choked-out cry but when he moved around to get a better look, he saw no reason to stop them. Kon's erection had returned in full now and even though he was obviously still a little uncomfortable with having someone so suddenly and so violently inside him, he threw his head back and made some sort of adorably sexy sound with every movement provided by the feverish vizard beneath him.

Shinji would have felt back for wanting to incapacitate Kon if the mod soul hadn't made it so clear how much he enjoyed his helplessness and actually used what little leverage he had to offer his own efforts. Instead came an incredible rush of relief and with that the rush of another string of orgasms. As Kon approached his own orgasm, he took hold of the rope holding his hands above his head and used it to raise and lower himself on the vizard's length, and slam into him even harder.

"Shit-Shinji!" Kon gasped as he started to come, inevitably drawing the other into an even more powerful release. Then, as the wave ebbed, he lost the majority of his strength, hanging almost limply, but still enjoying the relentless pace. When Shinji's pace did eventually slow, he could actually see the clarity return to the vizard's eyes.

"Kon, th…thank you," Shinji mumbled as he started to drift in and out of consciousness, his hips still moving seemingly on their own.

The mod soul smiled almost stupidly down at the quickly fading vizard.

That continued for another few minutes before Shinji finally lost consciousness, going totally limp on the soft mattress. His breath evened out rather quickly after that while Kon was left gasping for breath long after, even while Kisuke freed him.

"Is he," Kon began but was cut off.

"Yes, it's over," Kisuke answered. "You did very well," he complimented with a mischievous grin.

"Urahara-san," he began, his voice more shaky than he'd expected, "thank you," he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. Did I do something special?" the older man lightly teased.

Kon looked up with a sheepish grin, "I'd like to think you did."

Now he was intrigued. "What's that?"

"You created me. I don't think I ever expressed my gratitude for that," he couldn't help smiling, and weakly bringing his arms around the man in an awkward but warm embrace.

"Ah, you're happy because you got laid," the shopkeeper playfully but rudely surmised.

"Hey, just because I'm synthetic and undetectable doesn't make me immune from having feelings and," he was going to continue ranting but then he saw the smile on the older man's face, "you already knew that." Kon laughed a little. "But yeah, thanks."

Kisuke gave a sigh, "They grow up so fast…Come on." He gathered Shinji in his arms and led the slightly limping mod soul out of the room. Once they were out, he pulled the knob off the door, making the door and everything behind it disappear.

After setting knob on the nightstand, he tucked the vizard and the mod soul into his bed.

"How come you're not sleepin' with us?" Kon sounded offended.

"I have some things I need to do. Please stay with him until he wakes." The shopkeeper left no room for argument before he left the exhausted pair.

His first task was to find some clean clothes. Then, he got the minimal supplies he would need to heal his guests while they rested. Shinji had by no means hurt Kon, but Kisuke knew Ichigo would prefer his body be returned in a condition closer to one that he left it. Shinji, on the other hand, his muscles always experienced incredible strain during his episodes no matter what precautions were taken. Kisuke hoped that the muscle relaxer produced from mixing the drug in the candies with alcohol had helped with that. To his surprise, he didn't need to take any time to heal himself. He had managed to get out of the encounter unscathed.

* * *

Thank you for reading!

This one took a while 'cause my classes are starting to gear up for finals. Please, Lemme know what you think. I have a few ideas about where i wanna take this but i'm not really sure. So, as always, suggestions are always welcome!!!~


	20. Conversations pt 2

I hadn't planned on doing this but I just couldn't resist...

* * *

After leaving the Urahara Shop, and subsequently his body behind, Ichigo wasn't exactly sure what to do. What he really wanted to do was go home, but now that was out of the question. He had to find something else to do for the rest of the evening and hopefully Kon would be awake by the time he came back in the morning because there was no way he was going to risk going back to the shop any sooner than that. The look the shopkeeper gave him when he answered the door was still burning in his mind. He was so disappointed in Ichigo and the teen only hoped that he'd handled the situation maturely enough to get back on the older man's good side.

However, that was really the least of what was going through his mind. His short visit certainly gave him a lot to think about. He even found himself laughing a little about it. Yeah, he'd felt very drawn to Shinji but with the way he was displayed, he didn't know anyone who wouldn't have been to at least some degree. That god damned jingling still rang in his mind. It was going to be difficult not to ask one of them what that was the next time the subject came up. He hoped it wouldn't take much coaxing to get Kon to tell him.

One thing unexpectedly struck him as he considered how Shinji was so obviously helpless, but not only that. On top of that, it appeared so satisfying. He remember that when he was helpless in Heuco Mundo, in an obliviously less elaborate but no less thought out scene, his wants, let alone his satisfaction, was the least of concerns. Shinji's position, though extreme and vulnerable, was a sweet and willing surrender where Ichigo's experience was quite the opposite. He even felt a twinge of jealousy as the idea ran through his head, echoed by his hollow.

"You should go look for one of those fuckers and put'em in their place!" the hollow finally spoke.

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"I mean it. Just think about it. Yer stamina is incredible when ya get the itch, there's no way even both of'em would be able to keep up once ya got goin'!" it pointed out with a giggle. "They practically black out after one big O. Can you imagine the look on Gimmjaw's face if you were fuckin'em and just kept goin'?"

"Ain't happenin'," the teen mumbled. With a heavy sigh, the orange-haired soul reaper sat down on one of the benches in the park not too far from his house. He'd started walking that direction automatically but quickly realized that was a bad idea and took to walking around the carefully sculpted trees and bushes instead. Before his thoughts could get any deeper, he felt another presence beside him and started when he opened his eyes to see Kensai smiling at him.

"Yo," he greeted.

"Hey…" Ichigo asked suspiciously. "What's up?"

"You went to go see'em didn't you?" the white-haired man questioned with sudden seriousness.

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow. "What's it to you?" he asked, knowing exactly what it was to the man, but it was the only parry he could think of.

"What'd ya think?"

The teen gave his sudden company a critical look before shrugging. "Whatever. I mean, it didn't look as bad as what you guys were talkin' about."

"Really." Kensai was obviously unconvinced by the teen's sudden nonchalance.

"Look. I'm not like really freaked out or anything. I'm sure it could have been worse, more hard-core, or whatever but as long as he's not pissed for me seeing him like that, I think we're cool." If the other vizard were going to be so tight lipped about their personal lives then he saw no reason to divulge any more than he wanted to.

Kensai gave a pleased chuckle and gave the young man a rudely friendly pat on the back. "I knew you'd be fine."

"You're checking on me?" Ichigo asked dryly, totally unamused by their lack of faith in him.

"We look out for each other. That's how it works," he explained, still smiling.

"Thanks?" Ichigo wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Why'd you ditch your body? There aren't any hollows around," the older man suddenly started questioning again, but this time it was more casual.

"The mod soul who takes care of my body had some things to do," he carefully answered.

Kensai gave a discerning look. He had a pretty good idea what that meant. "You wanna come back to the warehouse then?"

"What for?"

"I just thought you might like some company and a place to sleep. You know you won't see your body again until morning, right?"

Ichigo blushed a little. Their frankness was starting to make him uncomfortable and he just noticed that Kensai hadn't removed his hand from resting behind him. "Yeah. I guess you're right. That's actually why I was sitting here. I was trying to figure out what to do tonight."

"Works out well the, ne?" he leaned in closer, a little closer than intended but he couldn't help himself.

"Are you…trying to make a move on me?" Ichigo asked, glancing at the arm that was nearly around him now and then back at the white-haired man's face.

Kensai withdrew immediately and with a noticeable blush. "I'm sorry. I just kinda can't help it." He silently prayed that the young man wasn't angry.

Ichigo was more confused now than anything else. Had Kensai offered such a gesture months before, Ichigo would have been angered by that confusion, but now he just appeared unsure.

"What's the matter?" Kensai asked, now with his hands sitting restlessly in his lap.

"N-Nothing. I'm just…I dunno how to react to you, I'm sorry," Ichigo blinked almost stupidly as he stammered.

Kensai was obviously displeased by that answer at first but let the aggravation fade before he spoke. "It's okay. Let's go." He went to stand but Ichigo stopped him with a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Well, wait a sec! Gimme a minute," he shifted awkwardly. Part of the reason he'd sat down in the first place was because it made his erection a lot easier to hide in his robes.

Kensai gave the teen an odd look until he recognized the embarrassed look he was wearing. However, he was willing to oblige the request for an expression so cute. In fact, he was quickly realizing why Shinji would be so attracted to this young man and forgiving the other vizard for being inconsiderate. But this came at a price. He wanted to touch Ichigo even more now than before. He licked his lips in a moment of thought before speaking, "Is there a problem?" he asked knowingly.

Ichigo glared indignantly. He was pretty sure the older man knew what his problem was. The glare weakened when Kensai leaned back slightly, revealing that he was partially erect as well. The look turned from one of indignity back to embarrassment when the white-haired man chuckled at the way Ichigo was so obviously checking him out.

"Can I help you?" he asked teasingly. It was all he could do to keep from leaning toward the young man again.

"How can you just walk around like that? Isn't it embarrassing?"

"Ichigo, hardly anybody can see us when were like this. If you yelled at that guy over there, he wouldn't hear you. And even if he did, most people who are that spiritually perceptive would know better than to say something to the crazy orange-haired kid with the unreasonably large sword if he had a boner."

"Don't talk about me like that," Ichigo argued.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to offend you. Actually, I find it quite endearing…but you probably don't want to hear that either," Kensai grumbled.

Ichigo was a little taken back by the normally stern man's change in behavior. "Whatever," he dismissed. "I just don't understand how you guys can be so uptight about it one minute and so casual the next." It was as close as he was going to get to saying that he was getting mixed signals.

Kensai nodded with understanding. "You understand, you just don't realize it," he assured but when Ichigo gave him an impatient look, he continued. "The sex is casual in the definition of 'casual sex', promiscuous, if you will. The personal relationship is the serious part. You understand that without having to have it explained…and I can see that's why Shinji ditched me to fuck around with you," he let slip before he realized what he was saying.

"What?!?" Ichigo's jaw dropped.

"I told you that earlier," Kensai gave the teen an incredulous look for his stunned reaction.

"You said you guys had been together. You didn't-I had no idea…" Ichigo was sudden overwhelmed with guilt and it was quickly starting to show itself on his face, especially in his eyes.

Making sure not to lean in any further than he had to, Kensai placed a reassuring hand on Ichigo's shoulder, "It's okay, really. We're used to the way he behaves. I just wanted to make sure you could deal with it if he did it to you."

"Thanks…I guess. I dunno. I'm even more confused than ever now!" he complained.

Kensai gave an affectionate chuckle as he moved his hand from the teen's shoulder to ruffle his hair.

"You keep touching me…" Ichigo pointed out quietly.

At that, Kensai withdrew with marked reluctance.

"If you keep doing it…we're never gunna leave this stupid park," he pointed out, amazed by how playful he sounded. He even laughed a little at the idea of the pair of them stuck sitting on the park bench till all hours because Kensai wouldn't let Ichigo get settled down enough to feel confident about getting up and leaving.

It made Kensai laugh as well.

"How do you deal with it?" Ichigo suddenly asked, hoping to turn this into a more productive conversation for the sake of his sanity.

"With what?"

"You said that you couldn't help touching me…I know it gets worse than that. How do you deal with it?"

"Honestly…I just take what I can get. It's what a lot of us end up doing when we know we aren't gunna get what we want," he answered, his tone shaded with shame.

That made Ichigo incredibly uncomfortable. It was obvious what Kensai wanted and now he felt an urge to try and at least give him something. But then what would the vizard think of him? And more importantly, what would he think of himself afterward? He already felt weird about having so many strange sexual encounters in such a short period of time and was still trying to process it all in context. "I'm not giving you very much to work with then, am I?" he asked sheepishly, surprised by his own boldness.

Kensai gave him an odd look out of the corner of his eye. "Are you being coy?"

Ichigo blinked stupidly and put his hands up in a gesture of innocence. "Coy? No way! I don't even know how to be coy," he defended, obviously flustered by the accusation.

That last comment made Kensai wonder. From what little he'd heard from Shinji about the specifics of their times together, he had gotten the impression that it was in the teen's capacity to be coy but not his nature. "Good," he actually turned to face Ichigo this time when he spoke and even leaned forward a little, "'cause I'm not Shinji or Kisuke. If you're gunna be coy, I'll fuckin' pounce," he informed as a sort of warning, or invitation, whichever the teen chose to read it as. Then, to lighten the mood and throw off Ichigo even more, he gave a light hearted chuckle. "Ha ha! That sounded weird, didn't it? I'm sorry."

Ichigo wasn't sure what to think about that. "...'kay, I'll keep that in mind." He decided to chock this up to the idea that the vizard might not be able to really help the way that his words came out.

Of course, if Ichigo wasn't being coy, that would mean that his reactions were genuine and that made them even more attractive to the older vizard. Too often were they caught up in situations where one of them was just playing along for the sake of the other. Ichigo had more respect for others than that and knew that even if it was more painful at the moment, in the long run it was better for everyone if he didn't pretend to be something he wasn't. That line of thought wasn't really helping either, he realized as he found himself trying to scoot closer to the young man. "Can I keep touching you?" he asked quietly, his fingers only centimeters from Ichigo's cheek.

The orange-haired vizard felt his breath catch for a moment at the question and before he could recover, Kensai's fingers were caressing his cheek, moving down to his neck, and Ichigo felt himself bringing their lips together for the second time that evening. Before he knew what was happening, Kensai's hand continued traveling downward until it reached Ichigo's lap and subsequently his erection.

Ichigo gasped and violently broke the tentative but deepening kiss. "No," he tried to pull the hand away but couldn't summon enough strength to do so, "Not here. What if someone sees?" He blushed furiously at the notion.

That made Kensai chuckle, more than a little pleased that the protests were now due to their location instead of their activity. "Never fooled around in public, ne?" he grasped the teen even harder before letting go to work on getting his sash untied.

Ichigo gave a small groan when he felt the older vizard's sure hand wrap around his length and, even before he started massaging, they both felt it pulse and get even harder.

"Shhh," he brought a finger from his free hand to Ichigo's parted lips, "Even if someone does see us, they won't be able to tell what we're doing…unless you keep making sounds like that," he advised even though the sexy little sounds that now accompanied the faces Ichigo was making were as much a turn on for him as touching the young man so intimately in a public place.

"Aaah!" he gasped again, burying his face in Kensai's shoulder and unconsciously clinging to the older vizard, "Wh-What are you doing?" was all he could manage even though it was pretty clear from his perspective what was going on.

"I'm helpin' ya rub out that easy one so we can get goin'," he informed with a bit of playfulness before picking up his pace even more.

Kensai marveled at Ichigo's adorably submissive behavior, something he didn't really expect from the rambunctious teen, but it was obviously genuine as he had yet to find anything disingenuous about him. He hadn't expected to get this far this fast with the orange-haired young man and he couldn't help thinking that, with enough time, he might be able to get Ichigo bent over the back of the bench and screaming his name. Realizing that although amusing, that line of thought wasn't really helpful, he had to make Ichigo back off a little. Reluctantly, he took the young soul reaper by the back of his collar and pulled him away.

The look that Ichigo gave him caused his reluctance to be replaced by a lecherous and somewhat victorious smirk. The young man's lips were moist and parted, practically begging to be nibbled, suckled, and kissed. His eyes were lazily half lidded and he wore a beautiful flush as his breath started to come in shorter draws, signaling his approaching orgasm. The young man even gave a small whine when he was pulled away and then actually did when he saw the look in Kensai's eyes. He wasn't going to say anything about it but he recognized that single-minded predatory air.

However, Kensai noticed the vaguely displeased look of recognition, even if the young man wasn't going to complain, and at that, he eased up a bit.

"Nnngh, Kensai, don't fuckin' tease me," Ichigo quietly griped as his hips moved slightly against the stilling hand.

Whatever that look was, it didn't seem to effect Ichigo's arousal, Kensai mused, as he pulled his hand away entirely, hoping to hear the handsome young man beg just a little bit more before finishing him off.

"Ah, why?!" he nearly yelled, unsure how he actually did manage to keep his voice down through his frustration.

"'Cause you'll make a mess like this. Here," he started to duck down into Ichigo's lap, "just be quick or someone really might catch us," he warned before sucking the anxious length into his mouth.

Ichigo almost came just from having the older man's lips around his cock and it wasn't long after that he actually did cum, a stifled, choked back cry the most outward sign.

Kensai wiped his lips as he withdrew. He tried not to look too pleased with himself. "Alright," he said after a moment, "put your pants back on; let's go," he motioned.

Ichigo gave a groan. His decency made it so that he was already tucking himself back into his pants and retying the sash. However, now that his anxiousness has so suddenly been replaced by lethargy, he was almost as willing to depart as before.

"Come on," Kensai actually stood this time, "We'll miss dinner if we wait too much longer."

The mention of food had Ichigo on his feet in a matter of seconds. He had only eaten breakfast that morning and skipped lunch to go talk to the vizard and then to Kon.

"That's what I thought." The white-haired vizard started toward the warehouse.

They were a little over half way there before Ichigo could find enough words to actually speak to the older man. "Kensai," he began carefully, so carefully that it almost sounded like a question.

"Yeah?" he gave the teen an odd look for still being so timid.

"What was that?"

Kensai stopped dead in his tracks and when he did, Ichigo thought that his heart had stopped too. But when the white-haired vizard gave a slight sigh and kept walking, he knew that was not the case.

"You're not mad, right?" Kensai asked when they started walking again.

"Well, no, but…was it 'cause of Shinji?" he had to know if it was primarily because of his own charms or the residual energy from the absent blonde vizard.

Kensai didn't want to answer but he did anyway. "I'm horny 'cause of him; I'm acting out cause you're you." He hoped that would be enough and by the oddly endeared look on the orange-haired vizard's face, it would be.

* * *

I don't know if this will go anywhere but, yeah, after that little kiss, I realized that if I were Kensai, I would probably try to make a move on Ichigo. So, here ya go.


	21. Flashback pt 1

They all had their own cues to let them know that an episode was on its way. For Kensai, it was as simple as having his thoughts increasingly ruled by certain kinds of subject matter. As the episode drew closer these thoughts would coalesce into fairly detailed fantasies usually with common themes. This was no different. What was different was _who_ had caught his attention. This time it was Shinji.

There had been a certain sexual tension between the pair from the beginning. Even before they were captains, Shinji would flirt shamelessly with the white-haired man, often just for the fun of it. And, much to Kensai's dismay, he found the gestures endearing enough to embarrass himself on occasion.

Before the hollowification, and even occasionally afterward, Kensai found Shinji's flippant attitudes toward intimacy unreasonable at best and degrading at worst. After, there was a shift. Shinji's former attitudes became closer to the norm and Kensai was one of those who had taken that the hardest. There were even times in the beginning, when they were all still adjusting, that he would avoid the blonde for fear of the contagiousness of depravity.

Now, this wasn't the first time he'd stared at Shinji, making sure to take in every detail, even the slight natural fluctuations in his raietsu. Shinji was good looking and he knew it; that was one of the main reasons Kensai didn't usually go for the blonde. It was just too easy to see through the other man's charms to his ulterior motives. Now was one of those times when he wanted to use another's over confidence to his advantage and no one made a better target.

* * *

About a week before Ichigo's first episode…

Kensai had just been musing over whether he wanted to tie Shinji up or let him roam free once he had him when he noticed Lisa a few meters away. She was very shortly followed by Shinji. He wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying but it was pretty obvious what they were discussing.

As luck would have it, Shinji was having his next episode first and apparently coming onto Lisa very strongly. For whatever reason, she wasn't taking very well to it, which was strange because she was usually more than willing to string the blonde vizard along even if it was just until someone else came along to take care of him. He watched for another few minutes, just to make sure she wasn't messing with him, trying to make him mad on purpose or something, before approaching.

"Is there a problem?" he stepped between them.

Shinji frowned deeply at the obvious cock-block before speaking, "You fuckin' bitch!" he yelled, though to whom neither was really sure.

"I'll say there's a problem," the woman nearly scoffed.

Shinji was about to defend himself when Kensai said something that neither of them expected.

"Want me to take'em off your hands?" he gave Lisa a suggestive wink.

She returned the wink and added with a lighthearted laugh, "He's all yours!" before turning and leaving.

"Kensai?" Shinji suddenly asked, unsure if he heard what he thought he heard.

"Well?" the white-haired vizard opened his arms.

To say that Shinji was confused by this turn would be an understatement but he wasn't going to question it. Instead, he was in those strong arms in a matter of milliseconds and pulling the larger man into a passionate kiss.

It took a long time for Kensai to realize it and even longer before he'd actually admit it to himself but there was a large part of him that didn't want to be with Shinji for quite some time because of how obviously more experienced he was. He was intimidated by the idea that something might be demanded of him that he was either unfamiliar with or unprepared for, not that Shinji would have cared either way. It didn't help that this fear was justified on a couple of occasions by other vizard, but only at the beginning. It wasn't long before they all knew one another's tricks, which made things easier but much less exciting. Not a big problem for Kensai, but Shinji became less easy to please as time went by.

Immediately, it was a battle of tongues and teeth for dominance and Kensai was surprised that Shinji was actually putting up a real fight. More often than not, especially with him, the blonde seemed to fall naturally into the more submissive position. When Shinji actually bit his lower lip, he gasped and looked into the blonde's eyes. He'd never seen honey boil so he wasn't even sure if it was possible, but the fire behind Shinji's eyes gave him a pretty good idea what it would look like if it could.

It was obvious that Shinji was past the point where he wanted to play games, which meant that Kensai had made his entrance at just the right moment and even through the slight wince of pain, he gave a victorious little smile.

Shinji noticed and pulled away, "Why…?" was as far as he got before he was starting to pull at the larger man's clothes once again.

"What'd you say to Lisa that made her not wanna fuck your brains out?" Kensai teased.

"Nothin' I don't usually say," he trailed off. "Why're you-?" he got a little further this time but this time he was cut off.

"Are you arguing?"

Shinji's answer to that was to take Kensai by the hand and lead him to the 'love shack', a small, two-room house constructed for just such occasions. Of course he wasn't going to argue. It was rare that Kensai showed any sexual interest in him in general, let alone actually making an effort to fool around with him. Shinji, on the other hand, had always shown an interest in the strong, serious man with white hair and piercing eyes. However, he had grown accustomed to the cold, stern reactions that Kensai would give and stuck primarily to playfully teasing as that was as far as he was usually allowed to get. That wasn't to say that he never tried and there were times when he succeed but it wasn't ever as fulfilling as he'd hoped.

This felt different. This time Kensai approached him and there was a want and willingness in his eyes and posture that Shinji would have been crazy to refuse. It certainly felt like he was going mad but he held tight until they got to the door.

Kensai stumbled slightly when Shinji impatiently pushed him into the room. It was the size of a decent master bedroom with a large bed, a few dressers and shelves, and a few other odds and ends, some obviously sexual, others not as much. He didn't know it, but the blonde had been in there earlier that morning making sure the things that he might want were readily available. He was about to complain but he was pushed again, this time onto the bed, landing with a soft 'ooph' sound.

Shinji didn't just push him, he fell with the larger man, landing on top of him. Before any words could be spoken, he brought his lips down on Kensai's and resumed his attack. He was unbelievably frustrated and because of his fight with Lisa, he was now also very angry. Kensai swallowed hard when he realized that he'd just submitted himself to a Molotov cocktail of volatile emotions and sexual energy.

"What's the matter?" Shinji asked in a sweetly wicked voice, even moving so that he could speak directly into the other vizard's ear.

"Nothin's the matter…you just surprised me," he admitted, hoping that a little honesty would diffuse some of the negative energy that the blonde was emanating.

Shinji gave a dark chuckle but it worked. He liked that he was still occasionally able to surprise the other man after all these years. "How's that?" he asked while starting to pull on the white-haired man's tank top almost hard enough to tear.

Kensai didn't want to answer so he went for the obvious distraction. "Don't fuckin' tear my clothes, damn it!" he pushed Shinji off enough to pull his shirt over his head.

Shinji eyed his partner carefully. He was grateful for his presence but still distrustful of some ulterior motive. "Why are you here?" he asked, finally able to speak the full question.

Kensai threw his shirt at Shinji's face, "Isn't 'cause I wanna be enough for you?" he gave an indignant pout.

"So that means you're not gunna bail on me like last time?" he exaggerated. Their last 'relationship' ended somewhat pre-maturely when one of the others became interested in Kensai. He couldn't even remember who it was, only that Kensai hadn't been given enough time to let him know. Normally, he wouldn't have cared for more than how long his addiction to the other lasted. But it was Kensai, someone who hardly ever gave him 'that look' and he felt it disappeared a little too quickly.

"Don't give me a reason to," he snapped back as he felt the blonde's spiritual pressure fill the room.

"Tch," he spat before his smile returned, "Then you won't mind if I want a little insurance," he pounced on the larger man once again, pinning him to the mattress.

The man now on his back wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that but before he could question it, he felt dexterous fingers lightly tickling his sides. He wiggled a little until he felt his arms being coaxed upward. He obliged if only to stop the tickling.

Once his hands were near Kensai's wrists, Shinji started to move upward.

"What are you doing?" Kensai asked impatiently.

His tone earned him nearly having his arms pulled from their sockets as Shinji fastened his wrists to a pair of handcuffs on a line secured to the bed. Once he was sure that the man beneath him was somewhat secure, his hands went to his button and fly.

"Damn, you're really aggressive today," Kensai half-complained, half-marveled.

Shinji instinctively reeled back to slap the man beneath him but caught himself before starting the downswing. When he did bring his hand down, it was to take a firm grip on that short wiry white hair. "You're not first person who's told me that today," he answered with an eerie calm while pulling his cock out of his pants.

Kensai was actually going to reply to that but as soon as he opened his mouth, Shinji shoved himself inside.

Shinji gave a growl of satisfaction, "You talk too much…" When he felt the man beneath him give a sigh of exasperation and subsequently surrender, he eased up a little by not holding onto the other's hair so tightly, except when he was cumming and had little control over those kinds of things.

Kensai choked the first couple of times the head of Shinji's cock pressed anxiously against the back of his throat. Then he remembered the reason why playing the blonde vizard's games before hand was useful; it was the foreplay for him. Once he got going, he didn't waste time. The sigh he gave was as much in exasperation at Shinji's ruthless desperation as it was his own physical response to being so harshly used. The surrender was inevitable after that and when the blonde eased up, if only just barely, he took the opportunity to offer what little support he could from his limited position.

The enthusiasm was well received but resulted in further abuse of his oral cavity. The blonde let go of his hair entirely, allowing his head to rest on the bed while he tried to swallow all of the fluid being poured into his mouth without gagging.

A few long minutes later, Shinji's member started to soften slightly and he withdrew. He gave a giddly grin at the cum that had slipped out of the other vizard's lips and now decorated his face. Another wicked little giggle later and he was sliding back down the larger man's body, not stopping until he could grind their hips together.

"Why, Kensai, you're all hard down here," the blonde dawled while licking the stray drops of cum off the other's face.

The bound man's reply was an indignant grunt as his body betrayed him.

"Does sucking my cock make you hard?" He giggled at the absolute fury in the look he received. "Or is it because I mouth fucked ya so good?" he continued and once the cum was cleaned up he started nibbling on the larger man's lips.

He gave another sound if indignation and turned his face away from Shinji's.

"Either way…," he sat up and started rubbing his ass on the hardness beneath him, "it's kinda whorish." His tone was arrogant and chiding.

"Tck, like you have room to talk," he snapped and immediately regretted his words. He could help what he said, Shinji couldn't.

"Well, it's best to get the news from someone who knows what their talking about," he advised haughtily. "Here's the deal. You're gunna be my whore today or I'm kickin' your ass outta here." Shinji started unbuttoning his shirt as it had started to cling uncomfortably to his skin with sweat.

"You'll let me go?" Kensai blinked stupidly with surprise.

"Yeah, I'm not a total asshole. So, what's it gunna be?"

There was at least one thing about Shinji's episodes that Kensai found endearing and that was his 'last chance' warnings. It took him a long time to realize that it was the blonde's way of trying to make sure his partner wasn't going to do something they would regret because it often felt like he was being pushed away. "Sounds like you don't wanna fuck me," he teased, bouncing his hips playfully, "I took a shower, jeez!"

Shinji gave the man beneath him a look of incredulity before the bouncing overtook his thoughts and he was starting move downward once again to remove his partner's pants, socks and boots. "I'm surprised you didn't bite me," he informed as he slid the final article, a pair of boxers, off the other man.

"I know you don't like teeth there; anywhere but there, right?" he asked knowingly.

"How sweet of you to remember," Shinji cooed almost dangerously before feigning impudence, "You'll pardon me if I don't remember what you like…You see, I've had too many other partners and we were together for such a short time last time…"

Those last couple of comments made Kensai decide that whether or not Shinji was bound during his next episode didn't matter as long as he had a gag handy but before he could form a reply, he look down to find Shinji closely examining his cock and gradually moving lower. "What are you doing?" he asked as a blush began to creep across his cheeks.

"You know, I've never really gotten a _really_ _good_ look at you," he replied as innocently as he could manage, while running his fingers up some of the larger veins he found, which became more as he continued. When the man he was teasing gave a slight moan at the attention he was receiving, Shinji backed off. "Do you want me to suck your cock?" he asked knowingly.

Kensai knew only one answer to that question at this point. He bit his lip and nodded 'yes'.

"That's so cute," the blonde continued to tease. This time he moved lower and started examining Kensai's balls, tan skin decorated by curly white hair. "But whores suck cock. They don't have their cocks sucked unless their John's a sissy," he nearly hissed.

Kensai was a little taken aback by the other man's crude language but let it go. Sure, he'd like a blow job but that's not what he was there for. There was really no point in doing anything that didn't get Shinji off. "Aaah," he gasped when his legs were spread, "That's fine," he informed through gritted teeth, "you've done that enough times that I think I can do without."

Shinji laughed a little at that because it was true and then again at the grunt of discomfort when he suddenly pushed his finger tip past the tight ring of muscle as soon as he found it.

"Nnngh, damnit!" he involuntarily kicked, giving Shinji a reason to grab him by the ankle and spread him even wider.

"You're pretty flexible, right?" the blonde asked with a sudden genuine curiosity but before there was an answer, continued, "Never mind, we'll worry about that later." He dropped the leg and crawled over to one of the many bedside stands.

Kensai gave a look of confusion in response to his abandonment but didn't question the few seconds to catch his breath. During that time, he also gave his restraints a few good tugs. It wasn't anything he couldn't break if he really wanted to which was reassuring in some ways and not in others but before he could contemplate that further, he noticed that the object of his affection was removing his clothing. He couldn't help but watch and then blush furiously when he was inevitably caught.

"Why, Kensai, you're staring at me," he playfully marveled. "Perhaps you really do want me." He left it at that because he was naked and making his way back to his partner with a few things in his hands. "Two's about your limit if you're not episodic, right?" he asked.

That was one thing that Kensai had a hard time getting used it, the business-like tone Shinji used sometimes. "Yeah, I guess."

"I can work with that," he informed while lubing up his backside. Once his entrance was slick enough to allow his fingers to easily slide in and out, he went back to straddling the white-haired vizard who was still staring at him.

Kensai's eyes rolled back as Shinji slid into his length, settling on the base and rolling his hips sensuously. Unfortunately, that pleasure didn't last very long because a previously unseen item was being put to use. The blonde withdrew a small part of the way before quickly but carefully clasping a ring around the base of the other man's erection.

"Anngh, what're you doing?" he tried to protest but it was already too late.

"Don't worry," he ran the back of his hand gently along Kensai's cheek before his grin turned wicked again. "I'll let you cum." That was all he could say before the length inside him twitched and he started riding the larger man in earnest.

He could tell by the look in Shinji's eyes that the time for talking was once again over which was fine because the hot friction around his member stole his words anyway. Before long, he even found himself gritting his teeth because of the mild suppression of his urge to touch the lithe form so fervently bucking while stroking his cock above him. He wanted so badly to break his feeble bindings but was worried about how the blonde would react. He squirmed while wrestling with the notion but his thoughts were interrupted by an order.

"Lift up your knees."

The white-haired man hesitated but only because it was so suddenly spoken. As soon as he caught the slightest bit of his bearings, he did as he was told and Shinji reached a hand back and twisted slightly. It wasn't the best angle but it gave him more leverage and could therefore ride his partner even harder, which was what he was after at the moment.

The man on top hadn't realized it until Kensai started bucking even harder that he wasn't the only one with more leverage now and turned back, placing both hands on the strong chest beneath him. "Yes, god, Kensai!" He had cum a couple of times before that but that started first wave of indistinguishable orgasms strung together into one long release. He didn't even need to touch himself to keep it going. There was just so much fire and friction between them that no further coaxing was necessary.

With Kensai's first near-orgasm, Shinji's moans started to turn into incoherent babble. The bound man gave a deep throated groan of aroused frustration when the peak waned without release, causing even greater pressure inside him. He even started to tug at his restraints in earnest.

"No!" he started clawing at the chest supporting most of his weight when he wasn't landing on the hips beneath him. The rest of his argument was lost when he actually drew blood, just a little but the damage had been done. He recoiled instantly and nearly fell backward, if not for the legs propped up behind him he would have, a displeased hiss the only sound he could manage. Something behind his eyes danced with delight as the slight scratch bubbled up a little bit of red fluid but he had to pull away. Drawing blood was a big no-no especially with Kensai.

Kensai gave a near-growl and bucked even harder, almost throwing the other off. The blonde threw out a hand to catch himself. It landed almost covering the large black tattoo on the larger man's stomach but he slipped a little on his fluid that had collect on his skin. The near-fall brought back enough of Shinji's sense to reach beneath him and unclasp the ring blocking the other man's release.

To his surprise, Kensai was actually able to hold out another few minutes before cuming inside the tight heat working him so hard. When Shinji felt the member inside him pulse his gave a sympathetic reaction and spilled even more onto the white-haired man's stomach. When Kenai stopped thrusting, the man on top of him settled for just rolling his hips while the length inside soften and slowly started to slide out.

"Mmmm…" Shinji rolled his eyes as he started to come down a little from the endorphin high. "I'm sorry," he almost whispered, dragging his index finger across the scratch, smearing the blood. When Kensai frowned, he continued, "You just make me cum so hard, I can't control myself."

The white-haired man couldn't argue with his silver-tongued partner as he was now moving back down between his legs. He knew what was coming next and it completely distracted him from anything that had happened before that.


	22. Flashback pt 2

This chappy's kinda short but worry not, there will be more to come in the next installment...

* * *

To Kensai's surprise, Shinji didn't immediately lube him up and dive right in, even though there was a certain air about him that said that he desperately wanted to. Instead, he withdrew almost completely to get something else from the bedside stand. Even though he was already spent, the white-haired man almost whined at the loss on contact. That's when he realized Shinji's raietsu was already starting to get to him.

Shinji returned with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "You said you were flexible, right?" he revealed a sling before attaching the ends to the other man's ankles.

"You didn't let me answer…" he replied, hoping that he would be as flexible as Shinji wanted him to be, not so that he wouldn't disappoint his partner but for his own sake because he got the impression that once Shinji got going again, that consideration would be put on hold.

"Then now would be a good time," the blonde advised while using the length of nylon strap between his partner's ankles to lift his legs.

"I-I guess…" was all he could manage before the strap was slipped behind his neck.

Once he was sure that the man on his back was secure, he sat back on his heels to admire his work with a greedy grin.

Kensai just laid there, hands cuffed above his head, legs spread wide in the air, and a blush staining his skin. That's when he felt a cool liquid being poured onto his skin, specifically his newly exposed areas. Then he felt Shinji's thumbs pushing into his opening and pulling outward, stretching. He gasped at how erotic he found the feeling as was glad that he'd just cum because if he hadn't he knew his penis would be erect and twitching from the rude attention.

Shinji gave another wicked sounding laugh at his partner's reaction. This man rarely reacted so readily and so easily to him and he wasn't going to waste a second of it. With that in mind, he bit back his arousal just enough to tease the other man a little bit more. "You've got such nice color…" he informed while harshly coaxing the opening his body craved.

The white-haired man gave a groan of frustration. His senses were clear enough now that the embarrassment was starting to get to him and he was seriously considering breaking the handcuffs again.

"Now, now, don't be like that…" he continued to dawdle while pulling at the tight ring of muscle his member was aching to penetrate. "You tell me I'm impatient and you get angry when I take my time," he playfully complained.

"I just…don't know what you're waiting for," Kensai actually complained.

"Fine, have it your way," he replied in a taunting voice while taking hold of Kensai's hips. He heard the larger man take a breath to steady himself as he pushed inside. To him, it felt like a slow sheathing but for the man beneath him it was still very sudden and he didn't stop there.

As far as Kensai was concerned, the pace that Shinji set was relentless from the start, not that he minded. It didn't give him the time to think about his situation and process that into embarrassment. He could just sit back and try to enjoy the attention, which was becoming easier with each forceful thrust.

He and Shinji had been together in the past but up until today, Shinji had been the instigator. This time Kensai had approached him and that fact seemed to make the other vizard more aggressive than usual. Before he knew it, his arousal was starting to stir and he was giving small sounds of pleasure.

This reaction, of course, only served to egg the blonde on. They were both sweating so much at this point that holding on to Kensai's hips without digging his fingers in was becoming difficult. So, he let his hands fall to either side of the man on his back, further doubling him over, to maintain and even increase his leverage.

The sudden movement and the deeper penetration it provided, made the white-haired vizard's breath catch in his throat. "Ah-fuck!" he swore under his breath when with another few thrusts, his prostate was struck. He heard Shinji give a pleased chuckle and before long, his renewed erection was pressing between their bodies.

A few minutes of moaning later and Shinji broke his orgasmic daze enough to speak, "You can't cum just like this…can you?" he asked hopefully.

Kensai shook his head 'no', "Not if I'm not…and you don't…" he trailed off into a choked out whimper. After that, the pounding last for another few minutes before suddenly one of his ankles was freed, his legs were falling back to the bed, the ring was back on his cock, and Shinji was riding him once again. This time Kensai didn't wait to be ordered to raise his knees. He did it instinctively so that he could actually assist in continuing their pleasure as opposed to his helplessness of moments before. "Sh-Shinji," he barely spoke and after the third or fourth time, he was answered.

"What is it, Kensai?" Shinji asked breathlessly from above.

"Let my hands go, please," he didn't want to beg, but he got the impression that the request would be more readily obliged if he did. Besides, there wasn't anybody else there to verify it happened.

"Please? Did you just say please? To me? In bed?" Shinji was obviously giddy and his hormones were overriding his sense.

"Come on," he urged, tugging at the restraints for emphasis.

"I dunno," he continued his nearly violent rise and fall.

"I'll just fuckin' break'em if you're gunna be like that," he threatened.

"No, you won't," the frantic blonde informed rather flatly.

Kensai frowned but he wasn't going to resist that tone. He knew better and wasn't up for the inevitable clash that would follow. Instead, he stopped fighting his restraints and did what he could to allow Shinji to continue finding pleasure in him. It wasn't difficult to tell what his partner wanted but it was frustrating because he thought he could better provide it if he were allowed at least a greater range of movement if not better use of his hands. What he didn't quite understand yet, and was only beginning to dawn on him, was that there was a large part of Shinji that just wanted to treat him badly for the hell of it…or to see just how much shit the white-haired, obviously physically stronger vizard would take before he fought back.

His thoughts were torn away from anything remotely existential by the rushing, throbbing pressure building in his groin. Naturally, it had taken longer to get to this point this time but he was already starting to consider asking Shinji to remove the ring again. One more please wouldn't hurt, right? But, not wanting to give in so easily, he withstood another false release and was wavering on the precipice of another before the plea was uttered, "Shit, Shinji! Just let it go, please!"

"Please? Again? Wow! I must say…" was about all that could be understood before the blonde's babbling became unintelligible. However, he did not respond to the desperation as hoped. In fact, he unconsciously started focusing more of his energy on the man beneath him, forcing another false release as he continued impaling himself and spilling himself on the tan body of his partner. When he heard groans and grumbles of frustration, he emphasized by shaking his head 'no' with marked petulance.

Kensai began to unconsciously pull on his restraints even harder. The metal ring blocking his cum was starting to grow painful. He growled violently when he felt the rush start again. "Damn it! Shinji!" he yelled but his outburst was only rewarded by maniacal giggling.

The blonde's eyes started to roll back a bit, signaling that his last bits of sense were leaving him and the euphoria of that surrender was setting in. He unconsciously clawed at the body beneath him as his release continued, even feeling his drive increase with the pleas of desperation from his partner. He even tasted the slightest bit of the sweetness of revenge at forcing Kensai to hold himself back from the brink of satisfaction, feeling that it was just after having to give up on Kensai so quickly last time they were together.

That sweetness suddenly turned bitter when he heard a breaking sound, it was the tie holding the white-haired vizard's handcuffs above his head. He barely caught the other man's hands before they reached the clasp. "No, no, no!" he near yelled, lacing his fingers with the defiant set barely contained in his grasp. He held tight while surging his energy and forcing another false peak from the man beneath him.

"No more!" Kensai pleaded. "It hurts, Shinji! I have to cum!"

The cry of pain was what brought the episodic vizard back enough to form more than a one-word reply. "You can take it. I need more!" he bucked even harder for emphasis.

The man on his back winced at the throbbing pain in his member. It was almost too painful to be pleasurable anymore. "Come on! Just let it go!"

Shinji could feel Kensai starting to combat the energy surges with his own raietsu but with the volatile states that Shinji's could reach during these kinds of heated moments, it only made the lithe blonde lose himself even harder on the chest and stomach beneath him. "Yes! More! Goddamnnit!"

Kensai gave a choked-out cry at the other's reaction and as much as he liked to see Shinji taking so much pleasure in him, he had to do something or the pain was going to make him pass out. He gripped the hands in his even harder and pulled outward, breaking the chain between the cuffs with one motion and a dangerous growl. "Let it go!" he said one more time, sitting up as he did so.

Shinji gave a whimper, "No!" he whined petulantly, even kicking a little when his balance was thrown off enough that he was no longer able to continue at the pace his body craved.

He wanted to let his frantic partner be the one to release his orgasm but that was apparently not in his near future so, with some reluctance, he pushed Shinji down the rest of the way and reached down to unclasp the ring.

"Kensai, please just fuck me! I know it hurts…but please! I need more… more… more…" he trailed off as he clung to the body pressing his into the mattress.

The desperate plea made him hesitate, but only for a moment, before releasing the clasp and cumming hard, this time for real, inside his blonde partner. "I'm sorry," he whispered into Shinji's hair.

The man on top of him came so hard that Shinji blacked out for a moment when it happened. But that didn't last long. His erection was still throbbing. "I would've let you cum…" he weakly complained while rubbing himself on the toned stomach pressed against his.

"I know…I'm sorry," he apologized again, even though he wasn't really very sorry, and gave his friend a kiss on the neck.

The apology only enraged the feverish blonde. "Oh, you'll be sorry…" he replied quietly and ominously before pushing the white-haired man off him and grabbing the back of his neck.

Kensai felt the sickening rush of panic run up and down his spine at the flash of anger that he saw in Shinji's eyes before his face was turned and pressed into the mattress. In that moment, he fought his partner for control of his own movements, if only for a few moments during their encounter and, as a result, was gripped even harder. He could feel Shinji's slender fingers digging into the sides of his neck and even though he was wincing because of that pain, he could breathe a sigh of relief because the hand was not latched onto the front, potentially blocking his windpipe. The ease of the sigh allowed him to relax enough to stop resisting once again and even push back when he felt the head of Shinji's cock pushing into him.

The effort, though appreciated, went largely unrewarded. Shinji even became more aggressive, grabbing one of Kensai's still-cuffed wrists with his free hand and using that for more leverage.

When the blonde's grip on him began to weaken, Kensai spoke up again, "I'm not goin' anywhere. You don't need to hold me down."

The white-haired man's tone was playful enough that Shinji let go in favor of taking hold of the larger man's hips. However, that didn't last long because he was still losing steam. Before long, he was leaning over Kensai, resting much of his weight on the other man while continuing to ride him.

"You wearin' out already?" Unless his sense of time was skewed, they had only been together long enough to make up a little less than half of what should have been Shinji's episode.

"L…L-Lisa…she…" he mumbled but the rest couldn't be understood even though the message was fairly clear.

But that left Kensai wondering. It was rare for Lisa to turn Shinji away. It was almost unheard of for her to stop him, let alone anyone, once they really got going. He must have done something to really make her angry. Before he could blurt out the question, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. That was not a discussion to have right now. Instead, he made a sound of mock-disappointment.

The idea that Kensai was disappointed by not receiving the full brunt of Shinji's energy gave him a renewed fervor, not much but it was noticeable. While he still lacked the strength to stop leaning on his partner, his thrusts became stronger once again, regaining some of their previous conviction, and his limbs seemed to cling to the body beneath him. However, that could only go on for so long before he started to slow once again, this time planting kisses on the bits of flesh that he could reach as he did so.

The gentle affections made Kensai second guess whether or not the blonde still sliding in and out of him was actually finished. That is, until the pace slowed to a stop with Shinji still holding onto him from behind. If his lips weren't still attached to the side of his neck, just below his left ear, no doubt leaving a hickey, he would have thought the other had passed out. Because he was so tired and worn, he had the patience to wait until Shinji was finished leaving his 'love-mark' before trying to roll them over onto their sides so that they could rest. To his surprise, he was met with resistance.

Shinji gave an indignant whine and held them fast, surprising them both with how much strength he could conjure while so exhausted.

Kensai was too tired to suppress his sigh of exasperation but he did stop trying to roll them over. "What is it?"

"I won't let you leave me…not yet…" the blonde grumbled and held even tighter.

The sudden laziness of the other man's tone as well as the newfound strength made Kensai look back over his shoulder for the first time since he'd been pushed onto his face. He almost laughed at what he discovered. Shinji was already, for all intensive purposes, passed out. Apparently, there was some part of him that could continue without real consciousness. His eyes were even closed and his breathing settled. "Here, I have an idea," he, after some long moments of effort, managed to turn around in his partner's intensely inescapable grasp. Then, he wrapped his arms around the quickly stilling form now seemingly wrapped around his own, grabbed what covers he could reach, and pulled them over. After that, he remained as still as possible because every movement caused the blonde to hold him even more tightly, at times almost painfully so.

As Kensai lay beneath his comrade, he felt exhaustion overwhelm him. He didn't realize just how tired his partner had made him until he was finally given an opportunity to catch his breath. That last thought echoed in his mind for a moment until he realized what it meant. He shifted slightly to find that he would still be held more securely the more he was perceived to be trying to escape. With that in mind, he tried to lay as still as possible. It was difficult to tell how much of this mostly unconscious time his comrade would remember. Likely, not very much in the way of detail, especially those providing context, but impressions, that's another story. He didn't want Shinji to wake up feeling angry, or worse, dejected or put-off, because he thought he felt Kensai try to leave him while he was incapacitated, especially after he made it so clear how important it was for him to stay.

As he let his eyes slide shut, the white-haired vizard couldn't help wondering what strangeness awaited him on the other side of his nap, as it was now obvious to him that Shinji wasn't finished, simply resting.

* * *

Okay, I hope you liked that (short) development. As I write the next chapter, I have a pretty good idea what I want Shinji to do to Kensai. I hope that it doesn't get too weird for too many people. With that in mind, I ask for suggestions. Either something rather extreme that you would like to read or if there's something that you absoluetly cannot stand, please let me know, either with a PM or a review. Just a warning, the more input I get the sooner the next chapter will be posted. Replies or no, thanks again for reading!!!


	23. Flashback pt 3

All the input I've received told me that anything goes. So, here you are...

* * *

The love shack was quiet for a solid three hours before either of them began to stir. Shinji happened to be the first to wake and was absolutely giddy that the other man chose to stay put during the intermission. Because he was so happy, and because he had a couple things he wanted to do, he carefully rolled off Kensai and positioned him in the way that he knew the white-haired vizard found the most comfortable. Nothing special, just flat on his back with his hands folded behind his head. He also took a moment to slide Kensai's pants back up his legs. He didn't bother with any other the other clothes because they would only get in the way. Instead, he stashed their remaining clothes, except the larger man's boxers, which Shinji decided to wear himself even though they barely hung off his hips (and only because of his returning erection).

It was nearly another thirty minutes before Kensai awoke to find that although he was much more comfortable than when he fell asleep, he was still very much pinned under the weight of another. He slowly opened his eyes to find Shinji's face only centimeters from his own. He started a bit in surprise and had the other man not been literally right on top of him, it would have gone unnoticed.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I startled you," Shinji paused to press their lips together, pleased that Kensai didn't hesitate to kiss back, "I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up," he teased playfully, dragging his lips up the other man's jaw, toward his ear.

"It's okay…" he nearly moaned. He much preferred this sort of attention to whatever Shinji had going through his system earlier. "You should have just woken me."

"No, it's fine. You needed to rest." His voice was sweet, almost sickeningly so, as he spoke into the other's ear. His tone still had the maniacal edge of hours before but this time it was more playful and teasing than anything else. When he felt Kensai shift to bring his arms round him, he quick stopped him. "No, please. Relax…I'd like to pay attention to you for a while, if that's okay…" When he felt the strong arms beneath him lose their tension, he started to slide downward.

Only then did Kensai notice that he was wearing pants. "Why'd you put my pants back on?" he asked suspiciously.

Shinji frowned for a moment until he was able to look upward at his partner with a smile, "I thought you preferred a little modesty," he informed while messaging the other man's chest and stomach. As expected, the darker man melted under the attention.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Shinji began.

"Don't worry about it," Kensai replied, letting his eyes slide shut slightly as he felt some of his tension leave him.

"I'm still just so surprised," he continued but stopped there, hoping the other man would take the bate.

Shinji's tone made Kensai wonder what he was up to so he decided to play along, "By what?" he asked even though he had a pretty good idea.

"That you wanted me bad enough to do something about it," he replied haughtily.

Kensai blushed. He hadn't really thought about it that way before.

"What'd I do to get your attention?" he asked genuinely because it was something he hoped he could continue doing.

"Huh? I dunno." He lied. Pursuing Shinji was something he did because the blonde offered things that the others did not. It was as simple as that. He wanted to thoroughly use someone up and he wanted them to like it. At the moment, he was just using Shinji's episode to ensure that they would find one another when he was in need. When the man massaging him didn't have anything to say to that, he cracked an eye to see that the blonde was frowning slightly. Realizing that his passive evasion wasn't going to help, he tried again. "I just couldn't resist. You looked so frustrated and she obviously wasn't going to cave."

The genuine tone Kensai managed made Shinji's smile return as he moved lower to the larger man's stomach.

"What happened anyway?" he finally asked. It had been plaguing him since he first caught sight of the pair earlier that day.

Shinji's frown returned, but his attentions didn't waver. "She was in a bitchy mood to begin with," he admitted, "She even warned me of that."

Kensai opened his eyes again, this time fully so that he could better take in the man above him. Now that he did take a moment to look, he could tell that his comrade was still swimming in hormones but also that he was definitely up to something. But what? "So?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Shinji replied resolutely.

Kensai frowned. He didn't want to push it, especially like this, because he wasn't sure what his partner would do.

"Let's just say that we played a game…and she lost. She's a very poor loser you know," he informed.

"What kind of game?" he had to ask.

Shinji gave him a look of mock-criticism, "I don't think I should tell you. I don't think you would like it."

That made Kensai uncomfortable, enough so to shift slightly beneath his comrade and when he did, he noticed something strange. He didn't seem to have quite as much wiggle room as he anticipated. It made his heart skip a beat and he instinctively tried to sit up, immediately finding that he couldn't.

Shinji watched with delight as a moment of panic rushed across Kensai's normally stern features only to be replaced by a sigh of resignation.

"Why?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Because it will take you a lot more effort to break my binding kido than anything else in this room," he answered simply, dancing his fingers up and down Kensai's ribs.

The white-haired vizard involuntarily jerked and laughed at the tickling attention. "Ack! St-Stah!-Stop! S-Stop it!" he demanded threateningly in spite of his vulnerable position.

Shinji did stop but not immediately, watching the other man squirm was too much fun to give up on too quickly. As soon as he did, he changed the subject. "You know," he began as his fingers made their way to the thick black number on the larger man's stomach, "I don't think we've done this enough."

"Oh?" was all Kensai could manage between catching his breath from the tickling.

"We should remedy that some time," he advised.

"Why not now?" the white-haired man proposed hopefully.

"That would be fun…but it would interfere with what I'm doing. Perhaps another time," he offered.

"What exactly are you doing?" he finally asked since he was given such a wide opening to do so.

That's when Shinji's unnerving giggling returned. "You'll see," he cooed before tickling the other man off and on for the next few minutes. He was determined to find every ticklish area on the other man's torso.

After every last spot was found, Kensai began to beg the other man to stop again. "Shinji! Ah-ha-oh-st-stop! P-Please! You-…You have to…stah-stop!" When Shinji finally relented, there were tears in his eyes and he was gasping for air.

"I _have_ to stop? I don't _have_ to do anything," he replied with childish impudence before giving the larger man's armpits another quick round of tickling.

"No! Really!" He tried to sound serious but his conviction was marred by laughter. "Just stop! …Just for ahaha minute!" He pleaded, trying even harder to break his invisible bindings to no avail. Luckily, the absolute desperation in his voice made Shinji let up but it was only for about three seconds before his impish grin grew wider. He had only time for the beginning of his bargain, "Just let me go for a minute," before the torture continued. He tried to continue as well in spite, "Then I'll do…whatever you want…I promise!" his vow was disjointed and stuttered from the forced laughter and gasps for breath.

However, it was enough to make the blonde stop. "Why do you wanna get up so bad?" he asked critically.

"Just let me stretch out for a minute," he tried.

"And then you'll do anything I want?" Shinji asked knowingly but still hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," the bound man squirmed a little.

"You stretched out plenty when you were nappin' after I climbed off of ya and you were plenty comfortable until you realized that you couldn't move," Shinji argued, lightly tickling the other man's sides.

"Ah-ha-No!" He grit his teeth for a moment in an attempt to regain his composure in spite of the situation. "I gotta pee. Just let me go to the bathroom!"

"Really?" the blonde asked with a giggle before diving into the man once again. He used nearly every spot he could remember even before Kensai started to beg.

"Yeah! I'm serious!" he laughed. "Come on! Stop! I'm gunna pee my pants if you keep it up!"

That plea in particular made Shinji laugh. He was even amused enough to relent, pleased by the fact that even though he was hardly touching Kensai, the larger man was still squirming desperately.

"I mean it! Let me go!!" Now he'd lost his composure almost entirely as he yelled at the man seated just below his lap.

"You wanna play a game?" Shinji asked with an ominous amount of mischief.

Kensai swallowed hard. "What kind of game?" he hoped the conversation would distract him from his situation.

"If you can break my concentration, which shouldn't be too difficult, you'll be free of my kido."

"And if I can't?" he asked bitterly.

"Then I guess you'll pee your pants," he answered hopefully.

"I can see why Lisa stormed out on you. That's disgusting and humiliating! I'll never agree to that," he nearly spat.

Shinji laughed again, "I don't see why not. It's really your only chance of making it to the bathroom in time. If you don't try, it'll leave all that time for me to torment you instead..." He threatened to tickle Kensai again and, just as he'd hoped, the larger man flinched even though he wasn't even touched.

"That's not fair! I can't _do_ anything like this!"

"That's to make things more fair for me," he informed haughtily, "If you could touch me, I would lose my mind."

Kensai's disappointed frown turned into a scowl. "What do you expect me to do?" he struggled against his invisible bindings both physically and spiritually, finding that it was going to take a significant amount of force to break free without breaking the blonde's concentration. Sure, normally, that would be easy but this was a different story. He was going to have to get creative but with the pressure in his bladder building up he was having a difficult time. "I should have known you'd do something like this!"

That made Shinji cock an eyebrow at his bound partner. "Oh? And you stayed anyway," he marveled as an afterthought.

"This isn't funny! I really have to go!" he fought again and this time something caused the blonde's hold to waver, but only the slightest bit.

"Then you better get to distractin'!" Shinji advised.

"So…" he tensed for a moment while he thought and was disappointed by the only thing he could come up with, "this is what turned Lisa off so bad she didn't even want to be near you," he tried to taunt.

"You're not gunna get outta this by tryin' to make me mad," the smirking vizard guided.

Kensai frowned again.

"You could start by not frownin' at me so much. You have a very nice smile," but instead of waiting for the inevitable argument about it being difficult to smile with a full bladder, he tickled under Kensai's arms again.

The white-haired man laughed, but it was a more whining and desperate sound than before. "Please, don't do this! I'll do anything else!"

"Earlier you said you'd do anything…" Shinji haughtily reminded but had to stop tickling the other man because the anguish in his voice was starting to get to him.

"That was if I got to get up and go to the bathroom first," Kensai griped, shifting and wiggling beneath his partner and captor.

"Oh yes, so sorry," Shinji grumbled. "But you aren't making a very good distraction. I might as well just get up and leave you here if you're not even going to try." As he said it, he slowly did it. It was obvious that the blonde didn't really want to break physical contact but the pleading look that Kensai gave him made it worth it.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going! After making such a big deal about making me stay, you can't just walk away!" he was almost enraged enough to lose control of the muscles holding back his urine and had to stop yelling to keep from wetting himself. "Are you wearing my boxers?" he sudden noticed once his comrade was standing at the foot of the bed.

Shinji giggled foolishly, "You noticed?" He even gave a twirl before going along his way, which happened to be into the only other room in the small building, the bathroom. With an evil grin, he left the door open and stood in front of the toilet. Only after he had his semi-erect length out and pointed toward the bowl did he look back into the other room.

Kensai lay helpless with eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

"I gotta do it now. If I get too much harder, it won't come out as easy," Shinji answered with as much innocence as he could muster.

"No! That's cruel! Stop it!" He didn't realize it through his own desperation but his cries were having quite an effect on the other man. If he had, he might have been able to break the spell before things got too much more out of hand.

"Oh, don't yell, it creeps back up when you yell," he called from the bathroom, even offering a dismissive motion with his off hand.

"Come on, at least close the door!" he pleaded.

"Don't watch," the blonde answered. "You think that's gross anyway, right?"

"Don't do this…" was as far as his next plea got before Shinji gave a relaxed sigh and he had to screw his eyes shut and focus all his own concentration on not allowing his body the sympathetic reaction that the other was trying to evoke, even letting out a pathetic whimper in the process, much to Shinji's delight.

When the blonde was finished and he heard the toilet flush, he finally opened his eyes, "I'm gunna throttle you when I get outta this!" Kensai growled at the form sauntering toward him.

"No you're not," Shinji replied passively while washing his hands, even letting the water run for an extra few seconds because he could watch the other man squirm on the bed. "You're gunna be so tired by the time I'm done with you that you won't even remember you were all pissy," he couldn't make it through the last part without giggling like an idiot.

That jab actually aggravated Kensai enough that his raietsu flared and when it did, he watched Shinji have to pause to maintain his concentration. It was obvious that this stand-off wasn't going to last much longer regardless of who gave in. However, it wasn't over yet because Shinji was on his way back to the bed and crawling up his body before he could think of anything else to say or do.

The blonde was about three millimeters from resting his hand on Kensai's stomach when he finally found his words. "Shi-Shinji…" he began shakily, "Please let me go, please," he repeated, hoping that the plea that had earned such a reaction before would work now.

It had an effect but it didn't necessarily make Shinji's hold any weaker. "That's a good start…tell me more…" he cooed, leaning over the prone man dangerously.

"You want me to beg? Fine!" he was past the point where his dignity would care about that kind of thing. "For the love of God, Shinji, please, let me go!" This time he was even trying to sound pitiful.

It made the blonde laugh again but he didn't waver. "I liked it better when you actually meant it," he pouted childishly, moving one hand to the other man's length. "Oh, now I see why it lacked conviction…you're getting hard."

It was true, only just barely but it was enough to re-ignite the blush that lit up the white-haired man's skin.

"Come on, tell me something really dirty. I bet that'll do the trick," Shinji coached.

Kensai scrunched up his nose at the idea even though he was happy to receive some sort of guidance.

"I thought you'd be pleased with this change of pace, really," Shinji sat back up and tried to appear disinterested in the man beneath him.

"Why's that?" Kensai grumbled, trying to drudge up something dirty enough to make his companion let him go.

"I thought you'd prefer it to being my cum dumpster. We can go back to that if you want. Fucking your throat should break my concentration pretty quickly. Then all you'd have to do is get away long enough to take a piss," he indignantly explained.

There was a long moment of tense silence. Shinji watched out of the corner of his eye while his white-haired partner tried to think of something. The worst part was that Kensai already had something in mind. He just didn't want to give away his intentions before his own episode started. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be for at least another couple of days. There had been a part of him that wondered if Shinji's episode would set off his own, but no such luck. However, it did mean that the blonde's unbridled sexual energy would have an even greater effect on him both now and in the days to come. His head was already spinning and his internal pressure was building; there was even a moment when he almost let it go because it was easier. But he wasn't that kind of man.

"Shinji…" he carefully began, having to stop for a moment when the man on top of him shifted his weight.

"Yes, Kensai?" he asked, his tone sickeningly sweet.

"Let me go right now! This isn't funny. My stomach is starting to hurt," he whined.

"Then just…" he danced his fingers up and down the larger man's sides, "let it go…"

The tickling almost made him do it but he held back long enough to blurt out, "The reason-" he had more to say but stopped for a moment to catch his breath when those two words caused his partner to withhold tormenting him. "The reason I approached you…" he had to stop to steady himself, "is because when I saw you I just so happened to be thinking about how I should probably tie you up when I corner you next week."

That did it. The combination of honesty, detail, and promise of what was to come made Shinji lose himself in the other man's underwear with a rather loud moan.

Kensai recognized that as his only chance and pushed the other man away, both physically and spiritually, find that this time, it was a very easy thing to do. He unbuttoned his pants as he made his mad dash and made it to the toilet about the time that Shinji's orgasm was subsiding. With a sigh of relief, he relaxed and…nothing. The white-haired man gave a frustrated grunt and, figuring that it was his anxiety preventing him from relief, he tried to relax again and…again nothing.

Shinji giggled at the other man's obvious frustration. "Is there a problem?" he asked knowingly.

"Shut up!" he scolded, not paying attention to the other's tone.

"Why aren't you going?" the blonde tried again and this time couldn't hold back his laughter.

"You! What did you do?" Kensai demanded.

"Oh, I guess you didn't _completely_ break my concentration. I was able to keep the smallest binding kido that I cast on you, the one over your urethra."

Rage flared behind Kensai's eyes and he barely kept his pants up as he stormed back to the bed, fully ready to beat the living hell out of the other man, episodic or no. He made it about half way before he felt a sudden release and an embarrassing warmth.

"There ya go!" Shinji feigned helpfulness and finally let go.

That simple action caused both their knees to buckle.

Kensai was so relieved that he almost forgot what was happening. A slight shift and the sudden cold as well as the way his pants were now sticking to him brought all of it back. He wanted to be angry and for a moment, he really was but it only lasted until he saw Shinji's reaction to the situation. Sure, the blonde was laughing like a victorious idiot at having tricked the other man, but that was quickly fading into sounds of heated pleasure as he spilled himself in Kensai's boxers again. This time he had to fight to keep his eyes from rolling back too far so he could continue watching the other man's agony. "You bastard…" was all he could manage and it lacked conviction just the same. There was even a moment when he found himself biting back a bit of laughter now that he was no longer doing the potty dance. However, that moment, like many things, didn't last.

Shinji wasn't completely finished with his orgasm before he started to crawled toward the man, nearly falling off the bed as he did. "Oh my, you're all dirty. How indecent!" he marveled while 'helping' the other man remove his pants. He was practically drooling and the fire of carnal hunger had returned to his eyes.

Kensai blushed but his scathing retort was diffused when he noticed that his boxers, the ones barely hanging off Shinji's hips, were almost as wet as his pants and a lot stickier. "You're just as bad." He snapped and tugged at the article. After all that, there was no way he was going to hold back anymore but before he could act, he was being pushed into the shower.

"Then let's get cleaned up," he barely shut the door before turning on the water.

"Damnit! Lemme take my clothes off first!"

"Your clothes are dirty anyway. A little water is only going to help," he moaned, cumming again from just rubbing their soiled bodies together.


	24. Flashback pt 4

The thinner man's release had more of an effect over him now that he would care to admit and the fog that filled the washroom from the hot water was only making the clouds in his mind thicker. When Shinji pushed him against the tiled wall and held him here, he took the opportunity to try to regain his bearings. He'd been in that bathroom countless times but was never when he had a clear head and the way the smaller man was practically clawing at his body didn't help either.

Once he had a better idea where he was, he decided to start pushing back and to his surprise, the blonde no longer tried to quell his advances. He pushed back again, this time with his raietsu and found that his partner was greatly weakened in that department as well. So, with an aggressive growl, he wrapped his arms tightly around the man who'd somehow just managed to remove their scant articles of clothing in a matter of seconds and without tearing them.

Shinji's knees buckled and he held fast to the other man for fear of slipping. He knew there was no way he could contain Kensai anymore and after being bottled up for so long, he would no doubt want to assert his independence. Or, at least, that's what Shinji hoped and he moaned loudly when the white-haired man proved him right by holding him so tight that he could barely breathe. He had to break their kiss to get enough air to maintain consciousness and when he did Kensai didn't waste any time in turning him around and pushing his chest against the wet tile wall.

Just to make sure the fairer, slyer man wouldn't try anything, Kensai took him by the wrist and twisted his arm behind his back for leverage. So that Shinji wouldn't feel abandoned, he was quick to move up behind him, practically covering the blonde's body with his own. He was practically trembling with need again so he couldn't resist reaching his other hand around his partner and fondling his throbbing length.

Shinji moaned and arched his back, pushing his ass into the other man and grinding as hard as he could, which at this point wasn't very hard. "Fuck me, please!" he moaned.

"You have no shame," Kensai informed darkly, knowing that the level of indecency the blonde was exhibiting wasn't entirely his own fault.

"I don't care about stupid shit like that…damn it, just fuck me already!"

Kensai continued to stroke Shinji's cock throughout this exchange, knowing that it was the least he could do. "I can't just yet. You're little stunt practically killed my boner," he finally pressed his hips against Shinji's, letting his nearly limp member slide easily between the cheeks of the smaller man's fair ass.

Shinji gave a growl of frustration and tried to take control of the situation again. The only reason he had allowed the other man to so easily assume dominance was because he thought he'd get a good ass-fucking out of it. If he'd realized that the other intended to make him wait, he would have guided them down a much different path. However, what was done was done and he was too weak now to push the other man back into the submissive role.

"You did this to yourself," Kensai chided, continuing to hold the other man tightly against the wall. The smaller man's desperate responses were already making him harder. It was just a matter of time before he would be fully erect once again and he knew he would have no choice at that point but to give the sadistic, licentious, needy man what he desired.

The other's tone made Shinji whine. He knew it was his own fault for indulging in something that he knew the other man would not appreciate but at this point, it didn't matter to him because he just wanted to keep getting off. Fortunately, Kensai was considerate enough to jerk him off while he waited for penetration but it just wasn't enough. "Kensai," he moaned the other's name, hoping to revive his arousal.

The larger man made a pleased sound at how easily his name poured from the other man's lips. It was working.

"Kensai, please…I need your cock!" he didn't care how loud he was, only whether or not his words and outcries could stir that certain something in the his partner.

"You _need_ my cock?" Kensai retorted with both haughtiness and incredulity.

"God yes! Please! I need you to fuck me right now!" Shinji would never let on but he was actually a little ashamed at what he was saying but only because of how true it was. Even though he was cumming from the attention, his body craved more than that and he was in no state to deny it.

Now it was Kensai's turn to give a dark chuckle as he continued to molest the fair blonde whose weight he was supporting almost entirely. "Tell me more…" he whispered sweetly into his partner's ear.

"I mean it! Damnit! Please…even if it's just your fingers…I just need more, Kensai, please…" he feebly bucked backward as he begged.

The white-haired man liked that idea but there was no way he could continue holding the other man's weight while fingering him and jerking him off. So, he was forced to stop almost all of his attentions in order to reposition them. With almost flash-like speed, he turned Shinji around and sat him against the side wall of the shower. Then, without hesitation, he spread the blonde's legs and stuck two fingers inside just before taking hold of the erection still spilling weak spurts of fluid.

The head-rush that he got from being moved so quickly just made Shinji cum harder while he was being moved even though he was hardly being touched. He didn't complain about the temporary abandonment but only because he knew something better was awaiting him on the other side. Instead, he simply continued moaning and tried not to kick too much.

Having no problem finding his partner's prostate, Kensai did his best to roughly massage the swollen organ. He knew Shinji's satisfaction with that wouldn't last so he decided that as soon as he was ready, he would go for it and hoped that he could before the other could continue begging. Sure, he liked hearing the other man beg to be penetrated by his cock but there were times when he loved being able to give someone what they wanted before they had to ask for it and this was one of those times.

When he was ready, he suddenly stood. Shinji probably wouldn't have cared if he was entered without any real lubrication but Kensai did. He'd planned to return to the shower floor as soon as he retrieved the bottle but just as he reached for it, Shinji stood as well, having to practically climb up his partner to do so. Kensai didn't mind. Actually, the shower was one of the few places he preferred to stand to have sex because it was generally easier for him to get more leverage that way. So, instead of sitting them back down, he lubed-up, hitched one of Shinji's legs up, and dove in.

They both felt Kensai's erection throb sympathetically for Shinji's desperate reaction. He was practically climbing backward up the shower wall trying to get enough leverage to push back, moaning his partner's name all the while. And, though incredibly sexy, it wasn't helping as much as hindering the situation. With an affectionate chuckle that went straight to Shinji's cock, Kensai wrapped the blonde's arms around his neck and lifted his other leg, pinning him against the wall.

Shinji responded by wrapping his weak limbs around his partner as best he could and held on for dear life. "God, yes, Kensai! Deeper! Yes, just like that…Oh, god, it's so hot! It feels..so…good…"

The fairer man pleasantly squished between the tile wall and his old comrade, both hard, hot, wet, and unforgiving, didn't even realize that he was still speaking words of encouragement to the man giving him everything he could. That was how Kensai knew that this time they were actually almost done and even tough he liked what his partner was saying, it was making it more and more difficult to hold back his peak.

When Shinji's voice began to grow hoarse, Kensai encouraged the blonde to rest his weary head on his shoulder. It didn't take much, the white-haired man simply nuzzled his face in the fairer man's slender neck and after a moment, parted his lips and let his teeth graze the other's throat.

The man pinned against the wall gasped at the attention, allowing his head to fall forward. He didn't bother with the preliminary kissing and suckling, teeth going straight for the thick muscle forming the junction of the larger man's neck and shoulder. He only hesitated for a moment. Kensai didn't generally like to be bitten, at least not as hard as Shinji wanted to bite him right now but when the man supporting his weight tilted his head away, exposing even more flesh, the hesitation was gone.

The sudden jolt of pain was enough to help the larger, darker man hold back his orgasm once again. It would have made him laugh a little, if he had the breath. Had their roles been reversed, biting the blonde would have ended this phase of their encounter. Instead, he decided to indulge his partner even more, leaving teeth marks of his own in the fair neck, shoulder, and chest before him.

The abuse of his flesh made Shinji cum harder. "Damn it," he hissed. "Yes…so good…"

To Kensai's surprise, Shinji didn't try to make him fuck him into unconsciousness.

"Kensai?" he mewled into the larger man's ear.

"Yeah?" he breathily replied.

"Cum for me, please." The request was spoken with an eerie level of tranquility considering the circumstances. In fact, it startled the man holding him against the wall. "I'm done…it's over…cum for me…" he let his head roll back so that he could try to look into his partner's eyes, know that was one of the few ways to emphasize his point.

Kensai took a moment to sense the blonde's spiritual pressure before pulling back to look into those honey eyes. He could feel the other vizard's raietsu beginning to ebb and the lust behind those eyes was gone, replaced by incredible exhaustion. It was a wonder the man was still conscious. "Yeah, okay," he replied almost sheepishly before finally allowing himself the pleasure of pounding into his partner with almost total abandon.

It wasn't until Kensai came inside him that Shinji's eyes slid shut and didn't open again until several hours later. He did happen to mumble a few thank-yous as the white-haired man carefully set him down, washed and toweled them, and put them to bed.

* * *

Shinji awoke several long hours later completely wrapped up in Kensai's strong arms. Normally, he would have been pleased by this development, but it was getting to be an uncomfortably warm embrace so he tried to wiggle away for a little more air. To that, Kensai, without even really waking, held the other man even more tightly. Even in his sleep, he'd learned his lesson about letting his friend have free range while he couldn't keep an eye on him. Shinji gave an indignant whine and pushed even harder, this time managing to wake his captor but much to his dismay, the larger man simply rolled on top of him, pinning the weakened man under his weight.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kensai mumble sleepily, only cracking an eye to see what kind of expression he evoked.

"Nowhere it seems…" the blonde grumbled.

"Good," the man on top gave a lazy but pleased grin and rolled them over so that Shinji was laying on top of him, undoubtedly a more comfortable position for them both.

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised you're still here," Shinji mumbled into the other man's chest as he laid his head down.

"Oh? Why's that?" Kensai asked as innocently as he could manage.

"Don't gimme that. You were about ready to rip my head off there for a second…a couple of times," he tried not to snap because he was the one in the wrong.

"Oh, that." Kensai gave a grin like the Cheshire cat. "Don't worry about it. It's fine," he replied sweetly.

Shinji felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't have to look up at the other man's face to know that he was grinning. "Why's that?"

"'Cause I know you'll let me pay you back when the time comes," the white-haired man shrugged.

That made Shinji look up at the other man's eyes. It was so difficult to tell what he was thinking at times like this. "Is that really what this was all about?" If it was, he had mixed feelings about it now that he had some of his higher brain functions back.

"This? No. This was all about you, just like it's supposed to be," Kensai answered in a chiding voice.

Shinji still appeared unsure. On the one hand, he liked the idea that Kensai was that sexually attracted to him. He didn't _have_ to submit himself to the blonde like that but he had and, for the most part, enjoyed himself. On the other hand, it was obvious to him now that Kensai wanted to use Shinji's greater susceptibility to the extremes of their shared condition so that he would go looking for Kensai when his next episode started, possibly even before the white-haired vizard realized it was starting.

"I mean it. Look, I know I give you a lot of shit and," he was cut off.

"And I deserve most of it," Shinji interrupted.

That made Kensai laugh a little, lightening the mood considerably. "I just wanted you to have your way for once…it just so happens that I want to have my way with you too. Is that really so bad?

Shinji gave a sigh, "No. I suppose it's not." He paused for a long moment before breaking the silence again. "Were you really thinking about tying me up?" he suddenly asked, finally letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"Would you rather I not?" Kensai playfully teased, knowing that his blonde comrade very often enjoyed being restrained in situations like that.

"I didn't say that," he was rather quick to correct. "I was wonder if you meant it or of you were just saying it to distract me earlier."

"Perhaps it was an exaggeration. I was still trying to decide if I wanted to when I saw you earlier."

"And?" Shinji, impatiently tracing random patters on the other man's skin with his fingertips.

"And what?" Kensai taunted.

"Have you decided?" he almost jabbed the man beneath him but somehow managed to keep his touches light.

"Oh, that. No, not yet." Without even looking, he could sense that Shinji didn't really like that answer. He couldn't tell if the blonde had a preference either way in the proposed situation but apparently being left to wonder was irksome. "I did decide on one thing, though."

"What's that?" Shinji tried not to sound too eager as he took the verbal bate.

"I'll probably gag ya, at least for part of it," he admitted, the slightest trace of arrogance in his tone in spite of himself. "At the least, I have to get you back for makin' me pee my pants like that."

Shinji gave a dry chuckle as he remember the look on Kensai's face when he finally released the tiny binding kido. It was shock, relief, anger, and confusion all in one and it was as much that expression as what was happening that made the blonde cum so hard. "Sorry 'bout that," he tried to apologize, not because it was really sorry but because it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Shhh. Don't do that. Sayin' you're sorry just makes it harder for me to get back at ya," Kensai teased both because he meant it and because he didn't really think any of them should apologize for the kinds of things that happened during their episodes.

The fairer man wasn't sure what to think about that as he felt a strange mix of offense and arousal creep over him. The feeling was strange enough to even make him squirm a little and then again when he felt the man beneath him chuckle at the reaction, only obvious because their bodies were pressed together. But, instead of letting it get to him, he simply gave a sigh of resignation. "Anything for you," he nearly whispered into his partner's chest before drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Days passed and during those days both vizard were practically chomping at the bit waiting for Kensai's episode to start. Unfortunately, the white-haired vizard had misjudged his condition. It was an easy thing to do but he still felt stupid for doing it. He'd hoped that Shinji's condition would provoke his own but the blonde had worked him so hard that it took even longer to surface.

By the time Kensai was ready, Shinji had already had his tryst with Ichigo and the teen's raietsu was apparently extremely potent. Shinji didn't even notice when Kensai's episode started the next day.


	25. Conversations pt 3

sexual tension abounds!

* * *

To Ichigo's surprise, dinner with the vizard clan wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be. In many ways, it reminded him of when he used to have the time to go out with his friends and that put him at ease.

When their meal was finished and Hyori began to bicker with Love about whose turn it was to do the dishes, Kensai snuck off, taking the orange-haired teen with him. "See, that wasn't so bad," the older vizard teased.

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo agreed as he followed the seemingly aimless path that the other was leading. "Are we going somewhere?" he finally asked after about twenty minutes of meandering around the underground facility.

"Do you want me to take you somewhere?" Kensai continued to tease, an uncharacteristically playful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at the other man's odd behavior but shrugged it off. "That's not really what I meant."

"I know. So, no, I guess we're not really going anywhere but I wanted to walk around for a little bit before settling in for the evening. You don't have to follow me." He was almost chiding.

"No. It's okay. I was just wondering." Ichigo backed off because it felt like the older man was testing him somehow, or at least trying to see if he could fluster him. Luckily for the teen, the incident in the park made him practically unflusterable, at least for the time being.

Seeing that his young companion was actually fairly relaxed, he did eventually lead them somewhere, to one of the far corners of the cavern. Ichigo wasn't going to ask why they were so far away from the others. Part of him, probably the hollow part, told him that it was because the older vizard wanted to get him alone so they could pick up where they left off. The rest of him tried not to care. He was just thankful for somewhere to hang out and something to distract him while indecent things were being done to his body.

However, his patience was rewarded when Kensai started turning over rocks and mumbling to himself.

"I know it's around here somewhere…unless one of those bastards found it…maybe over here…" the older man muttered as he continued his apparent search.

"Can I help you look for something?" Ichigo asked politely.

"If you want," Kensai distractedly replied. "It has to be here somewhere…"

The teen didn't bother asking what they were looking for. Based on how thoroughly the man was searching, he figured that it whatever it was, it would probably look out of place. Fortunately, it only took another couple of minutes before Kensai emerged from behind a boulder with a victorious grin.

"Yatta! I found it!" he held up a fifth of whisky.

Ichigo swallowed hard when he saw the bottle. He was, of course, by no means a drinker and the few times that he had tried it with his friends, he was quick to realize that he could not handle his liquor very well.

"Don't look so green. I didn't say you could have any," he continued to tease as he sat down, back to the same boulder.

Ichigo sat too, feeling awkward standing while his only company was practically reclined on the ground. There was another, smaller rock adjacent to the Kensai's. Ichigo chose that one to sit against, close enough to have a conversation but out of arm's reach.

In spite of his words moments before, Kensai pulled two shot glasses from his pocket and filled them both, one more than the other.

"You just said," Ichigo started but was cut off.

"You don't have to drink it. Just pretend so it doesn't feel like I'm drinking by myself," he advised as he slid the less full glass toward his company. "Thanks," he said when the teen accepted without further argument.

To Kensai's surprise, Ichigo actually tasted the liquid when he downed his first shot. His face was priceless and obvious disgust. "I don't know how you can drink this stuff," he lightly complained.

"If you do it right, you hardly taste it," Kensai replied, pouring his next shot even before the first had a chance to settle.

Ichigo watched the older man open his throat and swallow the liquid in a single gulp. Feeling a little more confident about his technique, he tried again. This time he got the shot down, but only barely before he started to cough and sputter, nearly dropping the glass on the ground.

Kensai laughed a little, a slight nostalgia creeping over him as he remembered his first reactions to hard alcohol were very similar. He was surprised when the teen pushed the glass back over like he wanted more. "You weren't supposed to drink it. You're just supposed to pretend." He filled the shot glass again anyway and slid it back.

The orange-haired young man accepted the glass but simply set it aside. "Are you drinking 'cause of Shinji?" Ichigo asked suddenly after Kensai's third shot. He didn't really want to bring the subject up but it was the only thing he could think of in time to stop the fourth shot from being swallowed.

Kensai glared weakly, "Does that bother you?"

"Does it help?" the teen asked sheepishly.

"Sometimes," Kensai admitted, "but only so much."

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened. I had no idea, really," he tried to defend.

It made Kensai laugh. Shinji, of course, hadn't apologized for what happened. No one expected him to. It was simply accepted as one of those things that just happens and it would be better off left in the past. "Don't apologize, please. That only makes it worse." The liquor was already started to hit him.

Ichigo frowned.

"Really. There's nothing to be sorry for. It's just kinda shitty the way things went down, ya know?"

Actually, Ichigo only kinda knew but he tried to be understanding. "Can't you just go get'em the next time?" he tried to sound positive.

"Yeah…but it wouldn't be the same…" he grumbled and downed the fourth shot.

"Why not?" Ichigo couldn't help asking, both to satisfy his curiosity and postpone the next shot.

Kensai eyed him carefully, well as carefully as he could through the blur that was starting.

"What?" Ichigo suddenly felt pinned by the slight scrutiny.

"I dunno, nevermind," he grumbled before shot five was gone. He was about to pour number six when Ichigo decided to stop him with a careful hand on his, moving the bottle away from the shot glass. "What are you doing? You can't have more until you've finished the one you already have!"

Ichigo blinked almost stupidly at the accusation. "I don't want another one," he carefully replied after a moment.

"Then what's the big idea?"

"Just…slow down a bit...please?" the teen tried.

Kensai's eyes softened at the concern in the young man's voice, as well as the feeling of their hands touching. "Okay." He poured one more and set it aside, putting the cap back on the bottle and doing the same. "You're not used to people drinking, are you?"

"No, not really," he shifted uncomfortably, "only at parties and stuff…not that I have time for crap like that."

Kensai gave a nod of understanding, watching someone drown their sorrows could be slightly disturbing for someone who was unfamiliar with the idea. "Sorry," he gave a slightly foolish smile. He hadn't really considered how he might look to his young company.

Ichigo tried to shrug it off. From there, their conversation was much lighter. They joked around and gossiped about the others for quite some time and, during that time, Kensai had managed to slip in another few shots, more than either would have preferred but Kensai's judgment was skewed and Ichigo was afraid to say something.

It wasn't a problem until suddenly Kensai burst out, "Ya know what the worst part is…the part that really gets to me?" He was slurring and didn't wait for a response before continuing, "He didn't even fuckin' notice. I mean, after you two…I knew our deal wasn't gunna be as sweet but I expected _something_, ya know?"

Ichigo wasn't sure what to say to that, mostly because he wasn't sure he understood most of it. However, he did understand enough to tell that Kensai was a lot more wounded over what happened that he wanted to let on. Shifting uncomfortably, the teen reached for his shot and found that this one went down a little easier than the last.

"Hey! Quit that! If I get you trashed, I'll get my ass kicked!" Still, he didn't want to feel like he was drinking alone and he wasn't done drinking so he refilled the shot and set it to Ichigo's side.

"Kensai…" he began carefully and the look he received bade him to continue, "what happened between you two?"

"Aw, you don't wanna hear that. It's a stupid story anyway," he grumbled, reaching for his own glass.

While he was drinking, Ichigo took the opportunity to snatch the bottle away from the older man.

"Gimme that back!" he swiped at the air in front of the young man.

"I think you've had enough for now." He easily kept the bottle out of Kensai's reach.

Kensai nearly growled, most because he knew the teen was right, but he wanted more. "If I tell ya what happened, can I have my bottle back?"

Ichigo gave him a suspicious look.

"Come on! Work with me here!"

With marked reluctance, he agreed.

Then it was Kensai's turn to look unsure again but he wanted his whiskey back. "I saw'em chasin' Lisa's skirt one day; an idiot could tell what he was after and she wasn't buying it so I stepped in. He dragged me to the shack and we screwed until he passed out." He didn't feel the need to include the part about being restrained because he didn't mind that part. Actually, there was a large portion of him that enjoyed it. "Then…he bound me with kido and…" his face scrunched up in frustration. "Can I have just one more?" he suddenly asked.

It was obvious that he didn't want to pour the man another shot but out of sympathy, he slid his over and it was eagerly accepted.

"And he tickled me until I was about to pee my pants. Then, he made me break his concentration so that I wouldn't. Sick bastard," he grumbled. "I manage to break it but he's sly, even when he's like that. No," he self-corrected, "_especially_ when he's like that." He made it so I couldn't when I tried and then, when I was about to throttle him, he let it go." His words were slurred and ideas disjointed but he did get his point across.

"He made you pee your pants?" Ichigo asked in disbelief and by the nearly fluorescent blush on the other man's skin, he knew he'd heard correctly.

"I was gunna let it go. I'm just that good of a guy. I figured I could get him back when I had my episode. He'd be addicted to me anyway so he'd be ready for it, right?" Then he stopped, thinking it would be self explanatory.

"So what happened?"

Kensai hesitated but still ended up blurting out the first answer that came to mind, "You happened. You had quite an effect on him. He pretty much forgot about me. Well, that's not really true. I don't think he expected your raietsu to be that strong."

Ichigo felt his heart sink and reached for his glass, now empty, but before he could fill it, Kensai made a lucky grab and snatched the bottle away.

"You've had enough!" he playfully scolded, pouring one for himself.

The teen wanted to apologize again but he'd already been told not to. "That really sucks," was all he could manage instead. "I wish I'd known."

"It really wouldn't have made a difference, at least not for the better," Kensai consoled.

"Still…I just wish there was _something_ I could do. Even though you say it wasn't my fault, I wanna make it up to you. I can't imagine what it would be like to feel someone after they've moved on like that."

Kensai thought for a moment. At first, it was about how unerringly thoughtful this young man was. "You don't need to make it up to me, really. Though, I appreciate the thought." Then a mischievous grin crept across his face. "You could help me get'em back," he proposed without even really thinking about it.

Ichigo appeared even more uncomfortable with that idea than the last. "I-I _really_ don't know if that's a good idea…" he stammered. The last thing he needed was to get tangled up in their drama. At that realization, he felt some sympathy for the shopkeeper he'd badgered all those many days ago.

The drunken man gave a hearty chuckle at the younger man's reluctance. "No, probably not…but it would be fun," he continued with a giggle.

The teen eyed his rosy companion suspiciously. He couldn't help wondering what that would be like.

"No, no. You'd never do something like that," Kensai continued to babble.

"Like what?" Ichigo asked defensively.

"Oh, you know," the white-haired man gave a dismissive motion before filling the shot glasses again. Ichigo appeared put-off by that and it made Kensai laugh a little more. "I'm sorry. I know you'd never wanna mess around like that."

"Like what?" he demanded again.

"You'd never take advantage of someone like that, especially during sexy time. It's just not your style." He playfully dismissed again.

The teen's immediate reaction was to be offended but after a moment of thought he agreed. "I suppose you're right there." He even laughed a little.

"And you'd certainly never outnumber someone…even if he did totally deserve it." He didn't wait to see his young companion's reaction before downing his next shot.

That idea made Ichigo's stomach flip-flop. He'd been 'outnumbered' before and as he remembered, it wasn't that bad. To hide the blush that the idea gave him, he too drank his shot.

"Actually, it'd be better if you didn't anyway, even if you could." Even though he was pretty drunk, he was still able to lead the young man around, at least verbally. "I'd have to hold back on'em if you were there…none of us wants that…"

The mere mention of the others having to repress themselves for his sake made Ichigo nearly growl in frustration. "No you wouldn't," he tried to correct. He didn't want to get pulled into the hypothetical like that but he felt he had to defend himself a little bit and it earned him a very critical look. "What?"

"Yeah. I would," the white-haired man replied evenly. "I'm not trying to offend you so don't take it so personally."

That didn't make Ichigo feel any better."Why then?" he challenged.

"My dear boy, we can't corrupt you too quickly," the drunken man chuckled and spilled some of his liquor in the process. "Damn it! Here," he handed the bottle and the cap to the orange-haired teen across from him.

Ichigo accepted them but he wasn't sure why.

"Pour me another one," Kensai ordered, holding out his glass. When Ichigo's reply was a look of unwilling incredulity, he elaborated. "I don't wanna spill any more."

"Answer my question first," he bargained and was a little surprised when it worked.

"'Cause neither of us would wanna scare ya," he answered, still holding his glass out and this time was rewarded with half a shot. "Fill it," he ordered.

"I don't like your answer so that's all ya get," the teen scolded while screwing the lid back on.

"You impudent little brat! Give it back then. I'd rather waste it myself!" Kensai tried again to get his bottle back and it was even easier for Ichigo to keep it away from him than the last time. "I don't see why you're makin' such a big deal 'bout it. You don't want to play, anyway."

"I don't like to be underestimated," he griped, gripping the bottle even tighter and having to back away a little to keep from getting grabbed.

"How about just estimated?" Kensai countered.

"I can handle more than you think," Ichigo shot back, even leaning forward and raising up a little to assert his confidence.

Kensai, in a brief moment of clarity, was able to reach out and take hold of the collar of the teen's soul reaper robes. He held tightly and pulled the young man toward him until their faces were centimeters apart.

Ichigo flinched, not only at the suddenness but also at the smell of whisky on the other man's breath. Now that they were face-to-face, he could feel the rosy flush that radiated on the white-haired man's skin and he could see that the man's eyes were quite dilated already. "K-Kensai," he stuttered, but wasn't sure what to say after that.

"Yes, Ichigo?" he answered sweetly.

"Here's your whiskey back," he weakly surrendered.

"Thanks," he dropped the young man in exchange and decided that it was past the time for shot glasses, at least for him, and simply unscrewed the cap and took a swig straight from the bottle.

Ichigo slumped forward, feeling more than slightly defeated until he noticed something. Kensai was still partially erect. Even with his limited experience with alcohol, Ichigo knew that with as much as the older vizard had to drink already, the fact that he was even a little hard really said something. Then, the teen did something that neither of them expected. He reached out and touched it.

Kensai gasped, nearly choking on his second gulp, when he felt that seemingly innocent hand take hold of him through his pants. He even spilled a little more of the alcohol trying to pull the hand away to no avail. "Shit, Ichigo! Not while I'm takin' a drink. You'll fuckin' kill me," he coughed a little, still feeling as though the burning liquid was going down wrong.

Ichigo laughed a little at that. "Sorry," he replied with the least amount of sincerity as he could manage before leaning forward and flicking his tongue out, licking some of the stray drops off the older man's cheek. It earned him another gasp. "Don't want any to go to waste, right?" he even giggled a little bit. "Tastes better like this anyway."

"Really? Well, here then," He leaned back a bit, pulled up his shirt, and poured a little down his chest.

Ichigo was quick to react, catching most of the drops before they were gone and the proceeding to trace his tongue up every trail they left. For a moment, he thought about letting go of the erection in his hand, but when Kensai's head rolled back and he gave a throaty groan, he ended up tightening his grip as it grew harder.

Kensai could hardly believe his eyes as he looked down that the young man eagerly licking liquor off his chest and stomach, his warm, soft tongue ticklingly sensual in all the right places. It wasn't until those sweet chocolate eyes looked up at him expectantly that he found enough sense to try and push him away.

"Look, you don't have to prove anything to me, or make anything up to me, or any of the other guilty reasons you're grabbin' my cock." The older man's reluctance was obvious but equally obvious was his genuineness.

Ichigo frowned deeply and disapprovingly. He was touching the other man because he wanted to; it just so happened that the guilt made it that much easier to overcome his inhibitions. "No, you look, I despise being pitied. So, I wouldn't be touching if I felt sorry for you, got it?" For emphasis, he gripped even harder and leaned close once again.

The teen's suddenly authoritative tone took the drunken vizard off guard. He even blinked stupidly for a moment, unsure as to what to say or do. He waited so long that the young man, now practically in his lap, leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on his slightly parted lips before withdrawing, taking his shot glass and the whiskey with him.

Ichigo was done pouring and almost drinking before the other man's daze wore off enough to notice. "Hey! What's the big idea?" he almost yelled.

"Shh! Don't tell anybody!" Ichigo playfully replied before choking down his fourth shot. Then, he quickly filled both glasses and set the bottle to the side.

By this point, Kensai was almost too drunk to process what had just happened. His only consolation was that even through the impairment of his judgment, he could still resist the adorable advances of the handsome young man sharing his alcohol. He bit his lip as he tried to reason out his options. Now, more than anything, he wanted to crawl over to the one who had so suddenly retreated and pin him to the ground. Because he couldn't think of anything better, he settled for reaching for the next loaded shot.

"I poured that 'cause I thought you'd wait a minute," Ichigo griped without really thinking, the alcohol having an effect on him as well now.

With a disappointed frown, Kensai carefully set the glass back down a little closer than where he'd picked it up. "Guess I was wrong about a couple of things," he slurred.

Ichigo could tell the man was bating him again, not that he was trying to hide it anymore, but played along anyway. "What might those be?"

Kensai thought for a moment, trying to decide what order to list them in, even giggling a little as he did. "Well, for one thing-oh, but don't be mad at Shinji for this. We kinda grilled'em after he got back. Ya know, we wanted to make sure you were okay." When he received a slightly confused and irritated look in response, he continued. "For one thing, Shinji was right about your kisses; they are very sweet." He even licked his lips for emphasis.

Rage flared within the soul reaper.

"I told ya not to be mad!" Kensai gave a dismissive motion, feeling that he was once again leading their conversation. "And apparently, you _don't_ mind taking advantage of someone when their good sense is impaired," playfully accused.

"I don't have to sit here and listen to this!" Ichigo took his glass and threw the liquid into the white-haired man's face before standing to storm off.

"Wait! You're right. I'm sorry. Please, sit back down," he pleaded, silently praying that he wouldn't have to chase the teen because he would no doubt fail miserably, making a fool of himself all the while.

Ichigo hesitated but complied and felt a slight weight lifted off his shoulders when the older vizard breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was outta line," Kensai agreed as he slide his glass, still full toward his company. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should cool it for a minute."

The glass was accepted but not immediately consumed and after a long, awkward silence, the orange-haired vizard spoke. "Did he really say that about me?"

Kensai blushed, "Yeah."

"Keh, figures," he grumbled before drinking the gifted portion of whiskey. After this, his fifth shot, he was finding that the older man was right, it was better if you didn't taste it.

"Did he say anything else incredibly embarrassing about me?"

"He didn't say it to embarrass you," Kensai defended.

"Well, I fail to see how saying something stupid like that helps you figure out that I'm okay," he continued to complain.

The more intoxicated man gave a sigh of exasperation and rolled his eyes. "You can tell a lot about someone by the way they kiss, ya know."

That caused Ichigo to pause.

"Yeah, think about it a second," he drunkenly encouraged.

The encouragement was unnecessary, as the teen was already trying to recall some of the kisses he'd shared and quickly realized that it was a reasonably true rationale. "Fine. Just don't say it again, okay?" he weakly bargained.

"No problem. If it makes you feel any better, he didn't really wanna talk about it. Usually, he won't shut up about it if it was any good," he laughed.

"Really?"

"You're surprised too?"

Ichigo shifted a little but decided to say it anyway, "He teased me about bragging. I'm glad he wasn't serious."

"That's one of the things about him that took me the longest to get used to. It's really hard to tell when he's being serious sometimes. It can be absolutely infuriating!"

Ichigo nodded in agreement until Kensai giggled again. "What?"

Kensai blushed again.

"What?" he demanded again.

"I was just thinking that he gives really good head. That almost makes up for that, right?" He couldn't even get half way through the thought before he was laughing again.

Luckily, it made Ichigo laugh as well, even nodding a little in agreement in spite of himself.

At his laughter subsided, the older man gave a sigh of resignation. "Oh well, right? C'est la vie," he shrugged, wishing that he had another shot but unwilling to ask for another.

Shinji was peaking again and they could both feel it.

"It's too bad," Kensai grumbled.

"What is?" Ichigo was taken off guard by the sudden seriousness in the other vizard's tone.

To the teen's surprise, the white-haired man gave a mischievous and lecherous smile, "He'd've made an amazing cock-slave."

Ichigo's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bugged out, "What?!?" he gasped in disbelief.

The young man's reaction made Kensai laugh hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.

After another sigh of relief, Ichigo laughed again too. "You had me there for a sec."

It took Kensai a moment to catch enough of his breath to speak. "I mean it…but you shoulda seen your face." He continued to snicker for another few minutes, leaving Ichigo to decide whether or not to be offended. Because he was obviously not outright disgusted by the idea, the intoxicated man continued. "Hehe, you're thinkin' about it!" he teased in a sing-song voice.

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in disgust, "No I' not!" he defended, a blush staining his cheeks regardless.

"Uh-huh, whatever. I could see it in you're eyes. It's okay. It doesn't hurt anything to _wonder_ what it would be like to have someone devoted solely to pleasing you for as long as you need them."

"Stop it! That's not funny!" The younger vizard was very tempted at this point to stick his fingers in his ears and start singing to block out the delightfully devilish things the older was saying.

"Did he really follow you around for a full school day during one of his episodes?" Kensai suddenly asked.

"Yeah…Well, he snuck off for a while but, yeah. Why?" He was suspicious, wondering if the question was relevant or a sudden change in topic.

Kensai pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I bet it'd be really easy for you," he finally replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?" His companion's drunken babble was starting to not make sense anymore.

"Ya know," he motioned vaguely but when it became painfully obvious that he'd lost his orange-haired company, he tried again. "If you wanted him to do that for you, I think I'd be really easy to convince him."

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

At that prompt, Ichigo felt obliged to elaborate on their relationship a little, in hopes that he could make Kensai understand that their relationship wasn't like that. "The first time we were together, he said he'd do everything he could for me. I just had to tell him what I wanted…" he trialed off but managed to pick up again before he was interrupted. "But it's only 'cause he knew I didn't want much. What you're suggested is a lot more than that…I don't think he'd," that's when he was interrupted.

"I did say that it would take some convincing," he reminded, slight smirk never wavering.

"Is that really what you wanted to do?" This time, the teen tried to partially disguise his disgust.

"Oh, I wanted to do a lot of things, nothing that vindictive until after the fact, though." he admitted.

"Can we _please_ talk about something else?"

Kensai laughed again, "Yeah, sure…but one more thing first, 'kay?"

"Whatever."

"You think, maybe, I could look you up next time?" he asked, his voice a little quieter than expected.

Ichigo was taken aback by the proposition. "R-Really?"

"Well yeah. I wouldn't ask ya if I didn't mean it. So?" he anxiously prompted.

Ichigo was about to agree until something suddenly occurred to him. "You're not gunna," was as far as he got before he was cut off.

"No, of course not! I wouldn't do that to you." Kensai was even a little offended by the suggestion.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, yeah, Why the hell not?" He even found himself smiling.

"By then his raietsu will have worn off both of us…provided neither of us screws around with him in the mean time, of course."

The first part was successful in reassuring the teen of his decision but the second half made him second-guess himself. Ichigo and Shinji had yet to approach one another outside of their episodes but the blonde had hinted at it.

"What's the matter?" Even through his drunkenness, he could see the sudden doubt.

"Does it really matter who we're with in the meantime?" Ichigo asked carefully.

"I guess not." He shrugged. "I just thought you'd prefer that, so there would be no doubts about any external influences."

"You still don't believe I'm free of the addiction," Ichigo suddenly accused. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? Are you trying to test me or something?"

Kensai's eyes narrowed dangerously. "There are a lot of reasons for what I'm doing," he started crawling toward the young man. "But I'm too drunk to list them. I just wanted to know if you were interested, in case you aren't busy. Do whatever…or whoever you want." He even gave an encouraging smile when he stopped a few inches away only to reach for the now less than half-full bottle. "What do ya say?" he asked, sitting back and carefully unscrewing the bottle.

Finding the white-haired vizard's behavior as curious as it was confusing, Ichigo felt his defensiveness melt away. "It doesn't matter what I say. No matter what, I'll probably end up looking forward to it," he was both embarrassed and resigned over the situation.

It made Kensai smile and this time it was a hearty, genuinely affectionate smile. "Thanks," he replied sheepishly, knowing that the real trick at this point would be remembering enough about their conversation not to make a fool of himself the next time they saw one another.

"I'm sorry for freaking out. This is all still really weird," Ichigo admitted, equally sheepish.

Then, the tension was broken once again by a bout of hearty laughter.

They spoke for another few hours before passing out.


	26. Curiosity

Haha...um, WARNING: there is no smut in this chapter. But i still think it's kinda fun.

* * *

Ichigo awoke late the following morning to someone rudely poking at the side of his head. He already had a bit of a headache and that _really_ wasn't helping. Cracking and unwilling eye, he nearly jumped out of his skin when all he saw was his own face, but upside down. For a moment, he thought he was inside his own mind and his hollow was playing tricks on him but when the face spoke, he knew that was not the case.

"Hehe, looks like I'm not the only one who had some fun last night," Kon teased.

The soul reaper, with equal rudeness, pushed the other away. "What time is it?" he grumbled, cradling his head in one hand.

"Almost eleven," Kon replied, his voice much quieter this time.

"Why are you here?"

"'Cause I thought you'd want your body back sometime today. But if you'd rather not…" he threatened to run off but the evil look Ichigo gave him made him decide to stay.

"Thanks," he sat up, still cradling his head.

Then suddenly, a voice from behind them boomed, "Ah! Good morning, Ichi-kun!" It was the blonde and it was obvious from the smirk on his face that he knew very well what he was doing.

His yelling even managed to wake the other man sleeping sounding only a few feet away. "Shut yer trap," Kensai grumbled indignantly, throwing an empty shot glass at his comrade without turning to look.

"I made coffee," he sweetly replied after catching the glass in his off hand.

The white-haired vizard's grumbling stopped and he held his hand out expectantly. Shinji obliged and handed the other cup to their younger companion.

"You two had quite a night," Shinji started teasing when he picked up the mostly empty whisky bottle but to his dismay, they were both too hung over to get upset about it.

However, it made Kon laugh a little and for that he received a jab in the side from the soul reaper sitting next to him.

"Ow! Hey!"

Ichigo flinched at the sudden loudness right next to him but he didn't say anything about it.

"Damn it, you should be more careful. I think you just bruised one of your ribs," he exaggerated, wincing at the slightest touch for emphasis.

Ichigo rolled his eyes until something occurred to him. "Gimme my body back."

Kon gave his 'roommate' a critical look but when he saw that the teen was serious, he gave a sigh of resignation. "Yeah, sure. Just a sec," he held up one finger before running off in the direction of the older, slightly less civil pair. "Shinji," he called. He thought he was quiet enough but the larger man still glared daggers for the overly audible intrusion.

Not that they were talking about anything of importance. Actually, aside from what he considered excessive volume, Kensai welcomed the interruption because Shinji happened to be lecturing him on the benefits of drinking in moderation. In fact, after an indignant grumble, his gave his comrade a dismissive motion and turned away from the pair.

"Thank you," Kon whispered quietly as he passed the older man and this time received the slightest of nods in response.

"What's up?" Shinji asked when they were far enough away that their conversation wouldn't disturb the others.

"Ichigo wants his body back but...I just wanted to say thanks before I have to go," he gave a bashful smile.

"I should be the one thanking you," Shinji moved in a little closer, careful to keep an eye on the two seated on the ground a few feet away. He didn't want to get caught doing something that the more prudent pair would be offended by since he wouldn't have anything to blame it on this time. "You were amazing," he raved quietly before giving the mod soul a quick peck on the cheek. He had more flattery but someone interrupted him.

"A-hem," Ichigo rudely 'coughed'.

Shinji backed away from the teen's body but not without a mischievous grin that came with hoping someday he could convince the young vizard to let him play with both of them at the same time.

Kon immediately retreated from the blonde and the soul reaper promptly returned to his body. He smiled for a moment because his suspicions were right. He felt much better, not one hundred percent, but definitely better and at the moment, that was all he was after. He found this quite lucky because the blonde was now approaching him.

Shinji tried not to snicker at the way the teen was slightly biting his lip. "And thank you, Ichigo. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you but considering the circumstances, and I won't go into _too_ much detail here," he was once again interrupted but this time by his older comrade.

"Please, don't," Kensai grumbled.

"Considering the circumstances, it was very…helpful," he managed. Actually, now the he knew Kensai was listening, he was a little self conscious.

"I'm glad," Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "So, you're not mad?"

Shinji gave his young friend a serious look. "No. We can talk about it sometime if you want, though," he offered.

"Maybe." The teen looked Shinji up and down and then looked back over to Kensai. The white-haired man was still sitting on the ground with his back to them, head drooped as he nursed his cup of coffee. "I should probably go. My dad's probably wondering where I've been," he laughed a little as he wondered how he was going to explain himself.

A few moments later and the older vizard were watching their younger comrade take his leave.

As soon as he knew Ichigo was out of earshot, Shinji turned to his friend, "You got him drunk?" he asked in disbelief.

"He wasn't supposed to have any…" Kensai weakly grumbled. "And I drank most of it anyway."

"How'd ya do it?" the blonde plopped down next to the other man.

Kensai rolled his eyes. "Get me more coffee and I'll think about talking about it."

Shinji brought the whole pot back this time. When the cup was filled and he still didn't get an answer he prompted, "Well?"

"There's nothing to tell, really. He didn't have any place to go after lending you his body so I brought him back here." The larger man shrugged.

Shinji gave him an indignant look, "That doesn't explain the whiskey on his breath."

Kensai gave a dry chuckle. "No, I guess it doesn't. The kid was nice enough to choke down a few so I wouldn't be drinking by myself."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he lied.

"Well, I have to say, I'm a little disappointed," he chided.

"I bet you are. But you shouldn't be."

"Why's that?" Shinji suddenly sounded more suspicious than playful.

"'Cause I think he really likes you." Now Kensai sounded chiding.

That took Shinji off guard. "What makes you say that? He knows I'm not the jealous type." He already knew it was true and he didn't really have a problem with his comrades knowing but it seemed a little strange to him that it would be brought up now. Hoping for a more honest answer, he topped off the other mans cup.

"Well, for one thing, he knows you're a freak but he still gives ya that that look." When Shinji frowned, he continued. "And even though I think you'd do just about anything he asked you to, he wouldn't _dream_ of taking advantage of you."

Even though the larger man was speaking the truth, Shinji didn't care for his tone. "Is there a point to this?"

"I dunno. You brought it up," Kensai shrugged. Then, before the other could respond, he finished his cup of coffee and carefully stood. "Thanks for the coffee. I'm gunna go take a shower."

"Good. You need it." Shinji replied with a fair amount of petulance as he picked up the cups and the pot to take them back to their cooking area.

Once the white-haired man was out of site, Shinji gave a sigh. He was tired and now he was a little confused. On his walk back to the warehouse with Kon, he felt like he was on top of the world. He was pleased to sense that the teen had taken refuge there so that he could have a little extra time to spend with the mod soul.

He found Kon to be the polar opposite to Ichigo while still being ridiculously adorable. He liked to show off, for one thing. They even raced for a fair portion of the way back and, even though they both knew that Shinji was faster, because he was weakened and Kon knew a few short-cuts, it was still a pretty close race. Now that he got to know him a little better, the idea of Ichigo taking his episodes out on Kon fascinated him all the more.

However, he hadn't expected to find him passed out with another of his former lover. It made him wonder. If he were in Kensai's position, he would have at least tried something with the young man, knowing that he probably wouldn't get very far. But he was not Kensai; Kensai had more self control than that, even while liquored up. Unfortunately, he was left to continue wondering because he could not get his friend to speak and much to his dismay, the Soul Society was eating up the time he wasn't studying or sleeping.

&

To his credit, Shinji had been waiting for Kensai's episode to start and Kensai was right, he hadn't expected the magnitude of the effect the young man would have on him. He was still swimming in the teen's raietsu when it did happen and was having a difficult enough time keeping track of his own spiritual pressure let alone sensing the changes in others. It made him feel guilty but at the same time, Kensai didn't exactly come looking for him. It amused Shinji as much as it irritated him that the other vizard _expected_ him to seek him out, but only because the other man was so obviously disappointed when that's not what happened.

Sure, his relationship with Ichigo had gotten deeper than he'd expected. Initially, he'd expected that the reluctant teen would demand an oath of secrecy, declaring it a moment better forgotten. He was more than pleased when that was not the case but still kept tight lipped about their relationship so as not the worry the others. What surprised him was that the hints he dropped that gave that indication were generally well received by Kensai who now sounded as though he was jealous.

He only tried one time after that first morning to see if he could get his friend to divulge any more details. "So you got him drunk and _nothing_ happened. You must be disappointed." He tried a different approach when he sat down for lunch with the vizard in question the next day.

Kensai cocked an eyebrow. "It sounds like you're the one who's disappointed," he countered through a mouthful of food.

Shinji frowned at his comrade's obvious disregard for table manners.

"Look's like I'm right," he even laughed a little, barely covering his mouth when he did.

"_I'm_ disappointed that you still talk with your mouth full," he shot back.

That made the white-haired man laugh but this time he was nice enough to grab his napkin. "Then why do you care?" he asked after swallowing.

"I'm just curious. You gave me the third degree for spending the night with him."

"That was different," Kensai shrugged, "Neither of us was episodic."

The blonde gave a suspicious look across the table.

"What is it now?" the larger man barely asked before shoveling more food into his mouth.

"I know you fooled around with him. I was just wondering how far you got," he replied as offhandedly as he could but he still sounded defensive.

"I didn't think you were the jealous type," Kensai teased after swallowing his food and taking a sip of his soda.

"I'm _not_ jealous," Shinji assured knowing that if it wasn't the truth, he wouldn't have been able to muster as much conviction as he had. No, he wasn't exactly jealous. With the lifestyle that he led before the hollowification and the one he was forced into now, traditional monogamy wasn't a viable option. Thus, no one really got called out for 'cheating' on another. However, the secrecy still gave some of the feelings associated with cheating. "Just curious."

"I told you, nothing happened," Kensai reasserted.

"Damn it!" Shinji brought his fist down on the table in frustration. "If you're not going to tell me, then don't lie about it."

"What makes you so sure that we did do something?" the larger man asked incredulously between bites.

Being put on the spot made Shinji's heart skip a beat. "Someone told me," he looked away.

"Who told you what?" The white-haired man suddenly sounded suspicious.

Shinji didn't want to say as he generally preferred not to talk about people behind their backs, as least not people he had any respect for. "Love went back up to the warehouse after Ichigo was done talking to you guys. He saw you kissing. You brought him back after he left and got drunk with him."

Kensai took a few seconds to replay those few impulsive moments in his mind. While it was true that he had come on to Ichigo, "You're little berry-tan is then one who kissed me," he informed, pointing with his fork for emphasis.

Shinji was taken aback by that, "Really?"

"Yeah, really." He couldn't stop himself from smiling at the look Shinji was giving him. It was the strangest mix of amusement and disbelief, with a dash of horror.

"Well, I can see why you brought him back," Shinji picked at his food.

"Don't worry. I mean, I think he tried to put the moves on me but I was too drunk to do anything with'em."

Suddenly, it dawned on Shinji that Kensai hadn't actually been trying to get the teen intoxicated so that he could take advantage of him. He knew the temptation would be too much so he got himself too drunk to do anything with him. "Wait. _He_ tried to put the moves on _you_?"

Kensai giggled as he remembered the way Ichigo allowed himself to be jerked off in public only to later eagerly lick bitter liquor from the older man's face, chest, and stomach. "But, like I said, don't worry about it. He was cute but I made sure nothing happened."

The words were reassuring; the giggling, however, was not.

"Yeah. I knew he'd be weird about it if he knew the attraction was at least partially because of your raietsu," he admitted.

"You're too kind," Shinji grumbled.

"That's why we're gettin' together sometime after it's all worn off."

"You're what?"

Kensai laughed and, having finished his meal while they were talking, picked up his dishes and left the other man stunned, speechless, and wondering if his comrade was serious or simply pulling his leg.

As the days and weeks passed, Shinji found it difficult to tell what the other man was thinking. He was his normal, laid-back self, but still a little preoccupied at times. So, almost needless to say, when Kensai's next episode began, Shinji was the first person to notice.

* * *

now that finals are over, there will be more frequent updates...circumstances permitting, of course.


	27. Surprise Luncheon

Shinji had broken a number of rules the last time he and Kensai were together. Well, to say that they had 'rules' governing their sexual activities is a bit of an exaggeration. They're more like guidelines. If someone wanted something outside of the guidelines, they had to ask for it. Shinji had shown blatant disregard for several.

The first rule he broke was how badly he was pestering Lisa before Kensai came along. That offence, however, was forgivable because of how quickly he let her go once the other man expressed his interest.

The next, Kensai found a little less forgivable. Shinji made him bleed, not badly, but it still happened. The only consolation there was that as soon as he realized what he did, Shinji immediately stopped, something that no doubt took considerable self control. On top of that, many of them considered it just a hazard of engaging with the lascivious man, somehow making forgiving that transgression easier to overlook.

Then, there was the humiliating bathroom incident. He still had very mixed feelings about that. For quite some time, he was furious about it but there was something that made him second guess that and that was the blonde's knee-jerk reaction to the climax of the situation. The reaction was so genuine that he couldn't bring himself to stop the ravenous man when he pounced and dragged them into the shower. Once he got a chance to think about it, he realized that the tiny binding kido was as much to torment Kensai as it has to protect their furniture and carpets.

However, for Kensai, all this came to a head the day that Kisuke came to take Shinji away. That was one man that he would trust with his life on the battle field, but in the bedroom was a completely different story. He knew that even before the transformation but wasn't provided proof of it until quite sometime after. By that time, he felt fairly resigned toward the matter. Eventually, he'd even decided to forget about it unless an opportunity presented itself because, as he'd told Ichigo, the moment had passed. Forcing it would only make things worse.

All this made it just that much sweeter when the young, chocolate-eyed strawberry crawled into his lap and started teasing him with his hands and mouth, his words confident, but vulnerable. He considered it lucky that he had the sense to realize that even with the adorably sexy attention, he was too drunk to cum. Though it would have been fun to watch the orange-haired vizard really work to try to get him off, he didn't want to have to explain that it wasn't the teen's fault that it just wasn't happening.

To Kensai's credit, he really was a pretty nice guy and he was willing to consider the matter closed after that night. It showed that indeed Shinji and Ichigo had feelings for one another but that they'd also 'moved on' in other ways and overall seemed to be handling it well. But, that only lasted until Shinji started badgering him about the matter. That got him thinking. Not that it took _too_ _much_ thinking, mind you, to play along and see where it got him. Before long, he even found himself hoping that the young man would be available during his next episode.

* * *

As luck would have it, Kensai awoke one Saturday morning at about nine-thirty to a warm, welcoming hand gently running up and down his side. "Mmm…" he smiled and rolled over to find the sweet smelling blonde snuggled up behind him.

"Good morning sleepy head," Shinji mewled.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he propped his head up with one hand, leaning on his elbow.

"You haven't noticed yet?" he gave a little extra push with his spiritual pressure.

Kensai felt the push and it made him smile. "Ah, yes. It is _that time_, isn't it? Do you know that that means?"

"I have a pretty good idea." The blonde's lips curled into a smile as he traced random patterns on the larger man's chest.

"I have to go shopping." Kensai threw the covers off and jumped out of bed.

Shinji fell on his face where the other man was. "Sh-shop…what?"

"I gotta make a quick run to the store before I can't function in public anymore," he shrugged, grabbing his towel and heading off toward the showers.

Shinji blinked stupidly as he watched the man leave.

Kensai wished that he could have seen the look on the blonde's face but his abandonment would be more effective if he didn't look back, if only because he wouldn't be able to hide the mischief in his eyes.

* * *

He returned a couple hours later with an arm full of groceries. As he expected, his comrade was waiting in the wings when he returned.

"You're back! What'd you buy?" he hurried up.

Kensai barely held back his laugh. "Not now, I have to get some of this stuff into the refrigerator."

To Shinji's surprise, the white-haired man didn't go to the kitchen area. Instead, he started carefully packing things into the mini-fridge in the shack. He didn't say anything when the blonde followed and watched him intently. After that, Kensai went to the bathroom to take a moment to wash his hands. Shinji took the opportunity to slip in behind him.

The slender, fairer man snaked his arms around the strong waist in front of him. "Mmmm," he nuzzled his face into the larger man's back and shoulders.

Kensai was about to push the other man away until one of those dexterous hands slipped beneath his belt and took hold of his erection.

"You're so hard already…Why are you putting it off?" Shinji cooed.

The man standing at the sink took a moment to turn off the water and dry off his hands before unfastening his belt and pants, giving the other man much more room to work. He even groaned at the attention. If Shinji was going to be this forward, there was really no arguing with it…at least not until he was a little more satisfied.

"That's right," he continued, his voice sweet and coaxing, while his free hand pulled some of the other man's clothes away, allowing for even more operating room. Then, when the clothes were out of the way, he used that hand to massage his comrade's testicles. He was more than pleased when the man in his arms rolled his head back to rest on his shoulder.

Before the transformation and for quite some time after, Kensai never dreamed he would have this kind of relationship with another man. Moments like these almost made him laugh about it. When they realized what was happening to them and really computed the consequences, the skewed gender ratio became all too apparent. There were even times when he actually envied some of the other guys, especially Shinji, for handling it a better than he did. This, of course, paled in comparison to the envy he felt toward the two women in their group who could have whomever they pleased.

"My dear Kensai," Shinji began, his sweet voice once again becoming stained by the wicked air, "what are you waiting for?" He tried not to sound too impatient.

"I was just thinking…" he trailed off into a deep moan as he began shooting cum into the sink.

"What could you think about that has you so distracted?"

Kensai gritted his teeth for a moment before speaking again. "We don't have many tables around here…especially ones fit for eating at…" He surprised them both by how well his words came out, but that only added to the blonde's confusion.

Not only was he confused, he was insulted. In his mind, such trivialities should not even cross one's mind while someone doing the very best they can to jerk you off. "Isn't it a little early to be babbling about stupid things?"

Kensai's hips jerked at the obvious taunt but after another few moments he was able to lift his gaze to the mirror just above the sink Shinji had him pouring himself into. As he expected, the blonde was peering over this shoulder, keeping close tabs on the faces he was making. "Shinji…" he mewled, more for the other's benefit than his own.

"Yes?" was the only response he could manage because of how much he enjoyed hearing his name called out during moments like these.

"Would you do me a huge favor?" Kensai asked, only able to hide the mischief in his voice because of the lusty sounds he was making.

"Anything for you. You know that," Shinji cooed.

"Let me tie you up and use you," he had more but was cut off by Shinji's eagerness.

"Yes, of course," the smaller man breathily complied and before he really knew what was happening, Kensai was using shunpo to carry him to the bedroom, dropping him on the bed and going for the drawer of rope. He couldn't hide his giddy smile as he was stripped and the length was wrapped around him in an intricate crisscross pattern. Most of the silk rope was used to keep his arms firmly crossed behind his back. The rest ran down his back and tied his knees together.

When he was finished, Kensai leaned over his comrade to examine his work. It wasn't perfect, but he didn't want to take the time to make it look just right. "Promise me you won't try to run away," Kensai ran the back of his hand gently along the blonde's cheek.

"I would never run from you; you know that." Shinji actually sounded a little annoyed by the request. He never ran from anyone ever. Then, Kensai gave him a gentle smile that made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

"I know. I just like to hear you say it. That's all." The white-haired man hopped off the bed and started pulling things from the mini-fridge.

At this point, Shinji didn't bother to argue or ask what the other was doing. He knew he would find out soon enough and satisfied his curiosity by turning as best he could to see what the other man was doing.

Kensai took one bag and a bowl to the bathroom for a minute. Though he couldn't see, Shinji could hear the water run for a minute and then drain before the larger man returned. But instead of revealing what he was up to, he moved some furniture and pushed the bed into the void so that it was flush with the wall on two sides instead of just the one. He even laughed a little at the bound man's confusion and surprise as the bed was moved and then again when he was lifted from the bed and placed on a row of pillows that were laid on the floor.

Only then did Shinji get to know what was in the mysterious grocery bag, now in the bowl. His mouth started to water as he watched the other man's knife-like zanpakto cut fruit into of fruit and break chocolates into little pieces. When Kensai started to carefully arrange them on the blonde's body, he thought they would both start drooling.

Kensai started with the things that would be the easiest to arrange. Slices of kiwi, pineapple, and, of course, strawberries were placed all along the blonde's torso and thighs. Then, so that Shinji couldn't complain, he said, "Thank you for beings so patient with me," before withdrawing to reach into the min-fridge again, retrieving a can of whipped cream, shaking it as he returned.

This time, Shinji could easily see the greedy grin on the white-haired man's face and it made him breathe a sigh of relief. With a look like that, he was sure this wouldn't take too much longer.

The white-haired man used the fluffy cream to stick a few more pieces of fruit and the chocolate bits to the thinner man's torso. When he was finished with that, he sat back for a moment to take in his subject.

Shinji nearly frowned when he saw that Kensai was still less than pleased. "What's the matter?"

"Shhh," the larger man quickly hushed with a dismissive motion.

The blonde's brow furrowed in frustration but he did as he was told, even though he _really_ hated being shushed. His patience was eventually rewarded when the other man cracked a smile.

When Kensai turned back to his comrade, he could tell his patience was running thin. "Looks like you're almost as excited about this as I am," he gave a cheeky grin.

Shinji would have laughed but there were several things stopping him. Part of him was becoming a little anxious. He still wasn't entirely sure what 'this' was. The rest of him didn't want to move too much for fear of messing something up. As it were, the only part of him that really reacted, was already the center of attention.

Kensai was pleased that his comrade was enjoying his strange variety of attention. "Now," he stood and brushed his hands off on his pants, "don't you go anywhere. I'll be back as soon as I can." He stepped over the bound and decorated blonde and toward the door.

"Wait, where are you going? Why are you leaving?" Shinji sounded more hurt than impatient. After such an elaborate set-up, he expected more attention.

"You _know_ I hate to eat alone," the white-haired man chided.

"In case you haven 't noticed, you're not alone," the blonde grumbled indignantly.

"Yeah, but it's weird to share a meal with one's furniture." When he saw the look of disbelief and incredulity on his table/plate's face, he turned and opened the door. "I'm just gunna go get my date. You better hope they're not busy. Now, please. Stay put 'til I get back." He left no room for argument as he shut the door.

Shinji rolled his eyes and then strained to listen when he heard the other man's authoritative voice just outside the door.

"Hiyori," he called to the 'young' girl kicking rocks nearby.

"What do _you_ want?" she went over to him regardless of her indignity toward him.

"I want you to make sure no one goes in here before I get back," he motioned to the door.

"What about if someone comes out?" she asked knowingly.

"If someone comes out…just let'em go," he dismissed and turned to leave.

"But what if he goes after you?" she cocked a suspicious eyebrow.

"Then let him follow…I'm comin' right back but I don't think he's goin' anywhere," he shrugged and tried to leave again.

"Can I go in and check'em out?" she asked with a air of mischief of her own only to receive a dangerous and foreboding look in response. "Fine, go do…whatever it is that you do," he was actually leaving this time, "but I can't guarantee my attention span!" she called to him just before he flash-stepped away.

* * *

A matter of seconds later, Kensai found himself standing across the street from the Kurosaki clinic. He closed his eyes and sensed the spiritual pressures of those inside. The last thing he wanted was to proposition the young man with his father, Kurosaki Ishin of all people, in the house. Lucky for him, the doctor was out but there was no telling for how long. He hopped up to the teen's window and tapped on the glass.

The orange-haired young man rose his head from his schoolwork, more makeup assignments, and although he was a little startled he was glad for a friendly distraction. He quickly stood and slid the door open, allowing the white-haired man to enter. "Hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Kensai smiled at the young man's choice of words and sat on the edge of the bed. He was actually pretty nervous, nervous enough to pace, but then it would be a little too obvious to tell just how excited he was so he sat instead.

It only took Ichigo a moment to recognize the look that Kensai was giving him and then he couldn't help feeling the older man's fluctuating raietsu.

"Are you busy?" he asked suddenly.

The teen look reluctantly back at his desk, "Yeah, kinda…" he mumbled but then he looked back at his guest, "but not really." He shifted awkwardly. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked knowingly but still rather sheepishly.

The young man's tone made Kensai smile even wider, "I was hoping you'd have lunch with me…and maybe spend the afternoon?" he hopefully proposed.

"Don't waste any time, do you?" Ichigo teased.

"I didn't think you'd mind," Kensai was suddenly less confident.

It was Ichigo's turn to grin. The idea that his opinion made a difference had butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "I don't. So, _just_ the afternoon?" he asked knowingly.

"Unless you wanna spend the night," he added jokingly and when he saw the look of mild disbelief on the teen's face he continued. "Are you disappointed?" the white-haired man sounded a little put off.

"Surprised," the teen quickly corrected, moving within arm's reach for emphasis. "Shinji's episodes are a whole-day ordeal."

That made Kensai laugh as he grabbed Ichigo's hip and guided him closer. "Yeah, I suppose they are. Mine are…are different."

"I'm noticing," he replied as the space between them grew smaller until they were practically touching.

"Then…can we go?" Kensai asked with marked impatience.

"Yeah, sure. Lemme tell my sisters I'm goin' out. I'll meet you outside," he reluctantly stepped away from the other man, whose body heat he could feel even though the thin air that separated them.

The episodic man gave a grateful nod and hopped back out the window to wait. His partner-to-be emerged a few long minutes later with a garbage bag over his shoulder. Kensai gave a small, but affectionate smile at the way the teen grumbled as he hefted the obviously too full bag into their dumpster before crossing the street.

"Alright," Ichigo dusted his hands off, "Where we goin'?"

Kensai tried not to laugh because his young friend's tone made him sound more than a little eager. Instead of telling him, he just started walking in the direction of the warehouse. He wanted very badly for both of them to simply flash-step to the shack but he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Ya know…you don't have to take me to eat first. It's not like this is a romantic date or anything," Ichigo tried when he saw how anxious the other man was.

That made Kensai laugh and this time he didn't try to stifle it.

"What?" the orange-haired teen asked, obviously unamused.

The man gave an odd look before speaking, "You remind me a lot of myself, that's all." Then he gave a sigh, "But then again, _most_ people have that association too."

"And what's that?"

"That eating with someone is more romantic than it is sexual," he replied smartly.

Ichigo was a little taken aback like that but then he felt a strange relief come over him. At least that meant that the older man had no intentions of wooing him.

"Look, I know that I don't really like surprises. So, if there's anything you wanna know, you just have to ask." Kensai offered. He didn't really like talking about it but he knew secrecy would only drive a wedge between them.

The young man gave a silly little smile. "I appreciate that but…" he paused to look the other man in the eye.

"But what?" Kensai asked barely able to suppress his anxiousness.

"But sometimes surprises are fun. I can wait until we get there," he offered.

"I'll race you then," the white-haired man gave a wink and flitted away.

All Ichigo could do was give a stupid grin and follow. Once he was sure that they were , in fact, going to the warehouse, he actually put up a fight to win their little race. However, he was not surprised when he lost. He was surprised, however, when he was caught mid-step in a strong, and rather passionate, embrace.

Before the teen could catch his bearings he was being pulled into the warehouse. However, they didn't immediately go down the ramp. Instead, Kensai got distracted by taking the young man's mouth with his own and pulling their bodies together in a nearly crushing embrace. He liked the surprised little sounds that the teen made and wanted to hear them some more before he had to take his hands off the warm, yielding body in his arms.

After a few minutes, Ichigo had to break their lip-lock due to lack of oxygen. "I…" he panted for breath, "I thought we were gunna eat first," he joked.

Kensai laughed a little. "Yeah, sorry. I just wanted some one-on-one time first," he ground their hips together.

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed hard, "Wait-what?" He unconsciously recoiled.

At the teen's instinctive recoil Kensai let go but caught him when he began to stumble backward. "I thought you liked surprises."

He was more than a little surprised when he was so easily released and then very surprised when he was caught a moment later before he fell on his ass. It made Ichigo smile and wrap his arms around the larger man once again. He even found himself laughing a little at his own reaction. "So…who else did you invite to lunch?"

"Ha, yeah, about that…they're more of an _uninvited_ guest." When it appeared that Ichigo didn't like the sound of that he continued. "_Someone_ tried to get the jump on me before I could see if you were available," he elaborated.

"So, who is it?" he asked again, this time more impatient.

"Does it matter?" the older man asked suspiciously.

Ichigo shrugged, "I-I guess not…but then, why still come get me?"

"Well, you were so sweet the last time I saw you that I couldn't resist at least trying to get my hands on you…no matter who tried to distract me," he admitted.

Ichigo blushed deeply at that. "Well-I…" he stammered, trying to rationalize his former actions.

"Ichigo," he cut off the young man's stammering.

The teen stopped speaking immediately, startled not only by the use of his name but also by the way the other man spoke it, like a plea or request. "What is it?"

Kensai bit his lip and lightly worried it with his teeth as he brought a hand up to cup the young man's cheek, running his thumb along those perfectly pink, moist, parted lips. Before he knew what was happening, he was flat on his back with someone pulling his pants away from his erection. He gasped when it was freed and allowed to stand in the open air of the warehouse. The only thing that brought back his sense even a little bit was the teen's giggling. However, before he could manage to say anything there was a warm, soft tongue swirling around the head of his cock.

After that, the only thing he could do was mewl the young man's name over and over until he came. All Ichigo had to do was tease the head with his mouth while messaging the shaft with his hand before it started gushing into his mouth. He barely caught it all before he was taken by the hair and pulled upward.

"I think I'm starting to like surprises," Kensai laughed as he licked the remaining little bits of cum from the young man's lips. "But if you keep that up, we might starve."

Ichigo gave in to the contagiousness of the larger man's laughter. "_I_ won't," he replied smartly.

With marked reluctance, Kensai wiggled back into his pants. "But our lunch awaits."

He only withdrew because of how determined the older man seemed. "Lead the way then because I missed breakfast."


	28. Dessert

Ichigo was a little stunned when no one approached them on their way to what Kensai called 'the shack'. There were only a few curious, and maybe jealous, stares. All and all, nothing to get worked up about so he simply kept pace until they reached the door. Only when Kensai's hand was on the doorknob did he turn and face his younger companion again. He looked a little annoyed.

"What's the matter?" the young man couldn't help asking.

"It's nothing," he said after a moment. He had been irritated that Hiyori wasn't where she was supposed to be but after a moment to feel her out, which took a bit of effort considering the circumstances, he realized that she hadn't gone far and was probably observing from a distance. "I just want you to know that…you can leave any-" he attempted to offer but was cut off.

"I know. Quit stalling," Ichigo urged, though he knew the man wasn't exactly stalling.

Kensai grinned again at the young man's eagerness and opened the door. As soon as he stepped inside, a voice from in the room spoke.

"It's about time," Shinji complained.

"Sorry about the wait but if you continue to complain, I'll make sure you can't," he threw a suggestive wink at the bound and decorated man laying just were he left him. "Because you were so good while I was gone, I'll let you have that warning."

Shinji was about to complain again anyway but then he saw the orange-haired young man that his comrade had in tow. "Ichigo?" he blinked in disbelief until a self-conscious blush crept across his body, starting at his cheeks and working from there.

Kensai ignored that and moved to the other side of the blonde, "Please, have a seat," he motioned to a sitting pillow across 'the table' from him.

Ichigo hesitated but sat down anyway if only to get a closer look at his blonde friend. The elaborate way in which his body was decorated with sweets was very enticing. His gawking was interrupted when Kensai offered him a pair of chopsticks. "Oh, ha ha, thanks." He accepted but was still unsure about digging in.

Shinji was also unsure, so much so that he didn't know what to say. He could feel Kensai's raietsu pressing in on him but it wasn't in a constricting or binding fashion. It was more like it was being poured into him, both a relaxing and arousing sensation. He even shivered when Kensai removed the first piece of fruit, brought it to his lips and carefully consumed it.

The youngest vizard noticed the blonde's flush intensify when he decided to dig in as well and for some reason, that made him smile just a little more. "So," he began after his first taste of kiwi, "Is this how your episodes usually are?" he asked the man sitting across from him.

Shinji scoffed but he knew Kensai would hold good on his threat to silence him and held back any more than that.

"Not always…but sometimes I am one of the lucky ones," the episodic man replied.

"How's that?"

"Sometimes…_sometimes_ we can sate the cravings of the episodes with other vices, like good food, good drink, sometimes even gambling and drugs can make it wane. It won't dull the sex drive completely but it can _occasionally_ take the edge off," he explained.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Ichigo sounded a little irked by that.

Shinji smirked at the teen's tone.

"'Cause you're not old enough to drink or gamble and we didn't want to steer you toward drugs. Really, sexual activity _is_ the easiest way to take care of it," he pointed out. "Besides, we didn't wanna point you toward somethin' that might not work. It'd only aggravate ya, if ya know what I mean." He gave a vague gesture before picking up a strawberry to savor.

Ichigo accepted that as reasonable enough and continued to eat. The last thing he needed was the 'everybody has different needs' speech. He was about to attempt some form of small talk but the strangled little sound that Shinji suddenly made derailed his train of thought. When he look to see what was the matter, he saw Kensai tugging and teasing one of the blonde nipples with his chopsticks, a stupid grin forming due to the reactions he could elicit.

The white-haired man looked and saw the slightly concerned look on his guest's face, "You can tease him too, if you like," he informed while trailing the tips of his utensils up and down the abdomen of his living table. "I assure you, he won't mind."

The orange-haired teen watched in near awe as Shinji squirmed from the tickling attentions, his breath even catching in his throat for half a second. The squirming brought his attention to something that he was, until now, trying to ignore, the bound man's semi-erection.

To give the young man an even better show, Kensai, without any hesitation whatsoever, leaned forward and flicked his tongue out, taking a small dollop of whipped cream from his comrade's stomach. Immediately, Shinji gasped and his cock jerked, engorging just a little more.

After that, Ichigo was awing at his blonde friend, his jaw even slightly agape in disbelief of what he was seeing and hearing as well as how he was reacting to the display. As they ate, he could feel Kensai's raietsu reacting to his. He was sure that it wasn't the first time he had a sensation like this but the other times he was a little too preoccupied to notice. There were moments when he thought it would overwhelm him and then just before that happened, there was a withdrawal. After that came that part that was the most unsettling part for the young man. Not only was the foreign energy pulled from him but it felt like it was trying to take his raietsu with it. It felt like an incessant tugging on his soul that grew stronger as the other man's raietsu ebbed within him.

The first time he noticed it, it was already too late for him to do anything about it; the man raietsu reverted back to the first state almost immediately. In fact, if it hadn't, he probably wouldn't have noticed the change at all. The feelings were so similar that only feeling them one right after the other like that gave him the perspective to be more aware of his situation, much more aware. With this newfound awareness also came a slight irritation. That fluidic energy exchange was something he expected the others to at least mention.

Three exchanges later, they were half-way through their 'meal' and he was about to say something when it dawned on him. They didn't say anything because they thought he already knew. He blushed at the realization, feeling like a total fool, and the expression that accompanied such a feeling did not go unnoticed by the man who was sharing his meal with him.

"What's that look for?" Kensai asked between bites. He was starting to lose his self-control and continuing to eat was the only thing keeping him focused on what he was trying to do.

Ichigo gave a reluctant and slightly nervous laugh. "Oh, just one of those epiphany moments, don't worry about it."

Kensai was too far gone by this point to question the obvious dodge and shrugged it off. At least nothing was wrong.

Shinji, however, was not content to leave well enough alone. "What was it?" He really wanted to know and so couldn't help blurting out the question.

The white-haired man barely stopped himself from backhanding his 'table'. Instead, he gave an irritated snarl and when it was obvious that Ichigo still didn't want to elaborate, he spoke. "Don't worry about it," he asserted.

Shinji promised himself not to forget to ask the teen about it later, when they got a few moments alone.

Kensai was glad that was all it took to shut up his friend for the time being. Another few surges and he lost his grip on his chopsticks, dropping the on the floor.

"Ah, are you okay?" Ichigo was a little startled by the fumble.

Kensai laughed a little before giving a sigh as he stretched his fingers out and pulled them back into fists a couple of times. "Yeah, just losing my fine dexterity. It's normal." He continued by eating with his fingers.

After that, Ichigo expected the raietsu surges to increase but there was actually a few moments when it all but stopped. He was just about to ask about it when he looked over to see they way that Kensai was looking at Shinji. After a second or two of feeling things out he realized that he wasn't the only one exchanging energies with the white-haired man.

The blonde gave a whimper and the episodic man relented. It was then that the teen began to suspect that Kensai was up to something but the suspicion was so small at the moment that he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. Instead, he followed suit by setting down his own chopsticks and carefully picking sweet bits from the man with his fingers. When he did, he noticed that his skin was warm to the touch and that the pieces of chocolate were starting to melt.

Kensai noticed this as well and placed the tip of his middle finger on of the larger pieces of chocolate. After holding it there for a moment he dragged it across the blonde's chest, leaving a sticky trail behind before picking it up and eating it. Then, he leaned over the fair vizard again to lap up the trail he left behind. This time he stayed to tease the blonde's pert nipples with the tip of his tongue. "Delicious," he nearly purred as he withdrew, looking his guest in the eye. "You should give it a try," he suggested, unable to keep the smoldering from his eyes.

He only hesitated for half a second before leaning over and picking up a piece of pineapple with his teeth. Before he knew what was happening, they were both hungrily eating the rest of the sweets that decorated the bound vizard's body, using their hands only for keeping balance and, occasionally, fondling.

There were only a few pieces of fruit left on his body when Shinji finally decided that he'd had enough. He gave a warning growl that went unnoticed among the other sounds he happened to be making. Never one to be ignored for very long, he began to struggle against his bindings in earnest. _That_ got their attention.

Ichigo was more startled than anything by the development. At first, he had been taken aback by Shinji's ability to lay still like that for so long. Now that he'd gotten a little used to it, he even jumped back a little when he started. Kensai, on the other hand, was less surprised by his blonde comrade's sudden outburst. Actually, he'd expected it to happen much sooner. After all, he'd only bound the insistent vizard with a rope because he wanted his energy available for other things.

"Shinji, what's wrong?" the teen expressed his concern when he realized that the white-haired vizard wasn't going to say or do anything about it.

"My arms are dead asleep," he griped but still managed to break his bindings enough to wiggle free of them.

Kensai gave a mischievous grin at the way Ichigo practically jumped at the chance to help their comrade. "Yeah, sorry it too me so long to get back." He was obviously not sorry. "_Somebody_ just couldn't wait."

Shinji would have assumed that his old friend was talking about himself if Ichigo hadn't started blushing profusely. Before he could ask what happened, Kensai spoke again.

The moment of genuine affection between the pair caused another surge in Kensai and he had to do something or risk tipping his hand too soon. "How was it? You knocked me down like this…" the white haired man leaned back. "And then what happened?"

Ichigo appeared apprehensive.

"Call it…a dramatic reenactment." Kensai smirked and turned to the blonde, "You wanted to know what took so long, didn't you?"

The episodic man reacted so quickly to his comrade's tentative nod of approval that to Ichigo, it almost felt as though Kensai grabbed his wrist at the same moment Shinji nodded. He hesitated, but only because he was caught off guard. One look into Kensai's face and he found himself freeing the white-haired man's erection once again.

Shinji sat back and watched the spectacle, wide-eyed and jaw nearly agape. He was torn. As much as he wanted to keep playing with them, it was starting to feel as though he'd outlived his usefulness. But the sight and raietsu was so arousing that he couldn't bring himself to leave. He was mere moments away from touching himself when Kensai finally looked at him again, a pleased and mischievous look on his face. A wink and a quick nod toward the teen's backside was all the encouragement the blonde needed.

Silently, he crawled up behind the preoccupied young man and began groping him. Both the older vizards grinned at the sound of surprise he made, Shinji because he liked being able to startle his younger friend, Kensai because of the sensation it caused around his cock. When the man behind him suddenly reached into his pants and started running his fingers through his pubic hair and fondling his balls, he almost withdrew.

Kensai sensed this without really even realizing it and barely spoke his plea in time. "Make him moan, please…" he mewled as he tossed his head back and forth, cumming just from the thought of it.

The plea and its accompanying orgasm compelled Ichigo to continue without missing a beat until Shinji did make him moan by unfastening his pants and starting to roughly jerk him off.

Shinji could tell that Ichigo was a little self conscious because the vocal appreciation didn't come as easily as it would have otherwise. Not that he minded, he rather liked a challenge. However, when the larger man on his back continued his pleas, this time only able to manage cries like, "Oh, god, yes!" and, "More, please, more," he knew he was doing well

When it seemed the young man on his hands and knees had let go of his inhibitions once again, the man behind him dared to start pulling his pants down to his knees. Ichigo felt incredibly exposed all of a sudden but the man in his service kept reacting so favorably that he couldn't bring himself to stop. It also didn't hurt that by this point in their relationship, Shinji knew how to touch him.

It took almost all of Kensai's remaining self control not to tangle his shaking fingers in that wild mess of orange hair, not necessarily to _force_ more contact but simply to _have_ more contact. The reason he could hold back was simple and selfish, he was enjoying the eagerness his young guest was displaying toward pleasing him during such distracting attention.

If Ichigo had been given a moment to analyze why he was so eager, he would have realized that it was all he could do to keep up with the demands of the two men. He wanted to do a good job for Kensai but with the way Shinji's dexterous hands were pulling him closer and closer to his own release, he found it difficult to keep his rhythm. He would have also realized that Kensai wasn't the only one pouring energy into him now.

Shinji, who was practically drooling over to sight before him, withdrew slightly to start sucking on his fingers. Normally, Ichigo would have looked back to see why he wasn't receiving as much of his lover's lovely attentions but this time he was distracted enough to actually appreciate a better chance to hold onto his senses. But, of course, it didn't last. Once the blonde's fingers were wet enough he started to slowly, but purposefully, push one inside.

When the tip of Shinji's finger entered him, Ichigo gasped, releasing Kensai's swollen member in the process. Even though he wasn't terribly pleased by being penetrated without warning, Ichigo was willing to continue. Without even taking time to try to gather his bearings, he licked his lips and tried to take the white-haired vizard into his mouth once again. With the man's pleas for more, there didn't seem to be anything he wanted other than oral pleasures. He was stopped short, lips parted, throat opening, by Kensai's hand on his cheek, guiding him to look upward instead.

"Don't worry about that," the episodic man moaned as he they made eye contact, which only broke for a moment when he spoke to Shinji, "Make him cum…please…"

Ichigo was more than confused and stammered to find a question to appropriate that feeling. However, any words that he might have found were lost when the tide of Kensai's raietsu started to recede once again. Instead, all that came out was a series of choked out cries as the man behind him attempted to comply by gripping him even tighter with one hand and adding another finger with the other.

Both Kensai and Shinji knew from experience that having raietsu violently withdrawn from you doesn't have the same cathartic effect as forcibly expending it yourself; meaning, the chances of Ichigo being able to orgasm while Kensai was withdrawing his spiritual pressure were very small, even if he was making an effort to do so. Ichigo would realize this quite sometime later and this incident in particular would be one of his primary pieces of evidence.

His conclusion during the heat of the moment was substantially different. Before long, he was starting to blame his inability to reach his peak on how self conscious Kensai was making him. They were hardly touching but the eye contact that the white-haired man was forcing was so intense that he felt pinned until he felt the wave start to wash over him once again. It was a little easier to breath but it also made the pressure building within him increase exponentially and when he finally relaxed enough for Shinji's fingers to find his prostate, he started moaning again.

To Ichigo's surprise, but not Shinji's, Kensai's cries of pleasure were almost as loud, louder in the moments that Ichigo grit his teeth or gasped for air. Those moments were increasing as the pressure continued to build and build and build. When it was nearing it's peak, he even found himself groaning both in the pleasure he was receiving as well as the anguish of his inability to orgasm.

"Nnngh," the orange-haired young man tried unsuccessfully to turn away, "D-don't stare…" he shifted uncomfortably which only made the man behind him hold him even more tightly. If his skin wasn't already rosy, they would have seen that he was blushing.

"I…I'm sorry. It's just," the white haired man let go of his guest's face but couldn't make himself look away, "I can't help it, you're so…" he trailed off as he came on the young man's chest.

Ichigo moaned jealously. That was the white-haired man's third release since he'd pulled that sweet hot mouth from his cock and the young vizard was still trying for one, not that he was looking for more than one.

Shinji, who still found it rather serendipitous that he seemed to be in charge of the situation for the moment, could see that this wasn't getting them anywhere and took action to remedy that situation. He waited until the strength of Kensai's orgasms ebbed, signaling that Ichigo was now approaching maximum pressure, before removing his fingers from the young man's backside in favor of pulling him backward and up onto his knees. He used one arm to hold him close so that they wouldn't lose their balance and kept the other continuing the task of manually pleasuring the squirming body pressed against his.

"Let's really give'em something to stare at," Shinji proposed, nearly purring into his lover's ear.

If Ichigo hadn't felt exposed before, he certainly would have now but, to his astonishment, it only served to make him harder, push him further toward satisfaction. "Ooohh, Shh…" he almost moaned the other man's name but stopped short for fear of offending his host. Only then, when he cracked an eye to see if there was any damage done did he even realize he'd screwed his eyes shut in the first place, a defensive mechanism brought on by the intensity of the eye contact.

Kensai whined, "More, don't stop," he pleaded.

Finally, the young vizard's confusion found words, "I don't understand. You won't let me touch you, what do you want?" he eventually managed, though it was difficult with the way Shinji was starting to slide his erection between his thighs. Instinctively, he tried to spread his legs, finding that the pants still collected at his knees made that impossible.

"Cum for me," Shinji advised in a breathy voice even though he knew that his younger companion had been trying for some time. This time, he turned the teen's head to the side so that the last word would end with their lips pressing together. It was the beginning of a passionate kiss that was originally intended to free Ichigo's mind enough for him to let go but ultimately led to an even better result, at least as far as the blonde was concerned.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the way Kensai was watching them and playing with himself. The look on his face said that he was getting what he wanted which, while that puzzled the inexperienced young man, it tipped off his older, more experienced lover. It was just another manifestation of a niggling obsession the white-haired man had ever since their transformation. He wanted something genuine, even if that meant he wasn't directly involved. Watching the pair before him behave so intimately and with such abandon right before his eyes were he could take in and savor every detail was more than he could have dreamed of asking for.

This realization made the blonde even bolder and he finally loosened the reigns on his own raietsu, allowing the young man in his arms to cum, mewling his name like a prayer without so much as a second thought. It was almost enough to bring Shinji over the edge with him. Had he been inside him instead of just between his legs, it probably would have been. It didn't take long before he was wishing it had been because it was starting to look like the other two were just about spent.

Kensai lay, chest heaving, cock occasionally twitching, and blurry-eyed, still looking up at the pair. Ichigo wasn't much better off himself as his worn muscles began to weaken, allowing him to start relaxing in the protective embrace of his lover. Shinji was about to lay him down but then he saw that the lustful sparkle had not yet left his comrade's eyes. No, he was just resting, but now what? He wasn't left time to ponder that question before the white-haired vizard acted once again.

He sat up and took the dazed teen by the wrist and pulled him into his lap again. "C'mere you," he practically slurred. This time, however, he wasn't satisfied to have him on his hands and knees. He didn't stop until the young man was turned around with his pants pushed down to his ankles.

Ichigo was so curious about what was motivating his host that he didn't fight the rather rude relocation, simply kicking his pants off the rest of the way. He would have fought if he'd known what the man was after next. Before he could even think, he felt something hard anxiously pressing against his back-entrance. He yelped and tried to jerk away but the position he'd been put in was more than compromising.

The struggle of the young man in his arms instinctively made Kensai hold him just that much tighter. With a challenging look aimed directly at Shinji, he pressed the head of his cock against the unyielding opening that tempted him so. Ichigo squirmed and made another sound of obvious discomfort.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" the blonde finally protested and louder than he expected.

Kensai laughed crudely.

"I mean it. If you wanna be a forceful asshole, do it to me, not him," Shinji bargained but tried to make it sound like an order.

Kensai scoffed. "Perhaps this boy likes a little pain with his dessert." The obviously disgusted look that Shinji gave him had him continuing before he even thought about his words or actions. "Whadaya say?" he harshly tweaked one of his guests nipples, "'Sides, you know you can leave if you wanna, right?"

Ichigo stopped kicking but because of the harsh attentions to his chest his squirming didn't stop entirely. When the length poking at his backside started its stinging pressure once again, he gave a dissatisfied grunt. Rage flared in Shinji's eyes for a moment and the pressures stopped.

Kensai gave a dark, but pleased, chuckle. "Check out that look. Is that _jealousy_ I see?"

Shinji rolled his eyes and pursed his lips. "I'm _not_ jealous. You're just…doing it wrong," he poorly covered.

The next thing Ichigo knew, he was practically dropped. He was so confused that he barely caught himself. He thought for a moment that Shinji was going to try to help break his fall but something stopped him and he just let his lover catch himself.

"Hn, what do you know?" he tried to sound playfully hurt and somehow it worked.

"_Obviously_ I know more than you," Shinji taunted.

Kensai pretended to think for a moment before retorting. "If you know so much, then why not show me a thing or two?" he proposed with a haughty grin.

Ichigo blinked stupidly as he looked back and forth between the exchange. He still wasn't sure what was going on but now that he wasn't being threatened with possibly very painful penetration, he couldn't bring himself to argue; that and he was still searching for the right questions to ask to alleviate his confusion. It didn't help that Kensai's spiritual pressure was on the rise again and it was making his head feel a little foggy.

Shinji gave his older comrade a look of slight disbelief, partially at what he was suggesting but mostly because he so willingly dropped the young man to make the suggestion. The white-haired man had finally fully tipped his hand. He always knew that Kensai was a voyeur at heart but he'd never gotten to see this side of it before. "Yeah, okay," he finally agreed after a moment of thought.

Before Ichigo could process what was being agreed to, he was in Shinji's arms once again. This time, he wasn't rudely pulled by the wrist either; the fair blonde snaked an arm around his waist and slowly drew him closer. To his astonishment, he moaned from the action; he was hardly able to believe that the vocal appreciation poured from his lips so easily but it was so loud that there was no denying it. When his lover moaned back as their bodies pressed together, Ichigo spoke, but only in a whisper. "Sh-Shinji…I don't understand-" He was cut off with a kiss before he could get any further into that thought.

When the kiss broke, Shinji continued by trailing more kisses along the young man's jaw and up toward his ear. "Shhh…It's okay. Don't try to understand, it won't help."

Ichigo gasp when that dexterous tongue started tickling the outer shell of his ear. "Then how do I know what I'm supposed to do?" he tried to complain but found his arousal stirring once again and it was making his tone much more yielding. He wanted very badly to look back over his shoulder at the white-haired vizard only a few feet behind him but he couldn't bring himself to turn away from the man holding him so close.

"Don't worry about that. In fact, just stop thinking altogether and follow my lead," Shinji advised. He could feel that Kensai was still spending much of his remaining energy on the young man and that it was taking its toll on his perceptions and sense.

The orange-haired vizard gave a pathetic whine but couldn't find it in himself to do anything but comply. Whatever was happening him felt too good to deny. "Uh-huh…" he weakly nodded.

"Mmmm…goood…" Shinji cooed into his lover's neck. He could feel a portion of his older comrade's raietsu driving him as well but he wasn't fighting it like Ichigo, making it easier to keep track of what was going on.

When the two lovers before him began to engage one another without the air of self-consciousness they held before, Kensai was able to breath a sigh of relief. With that layer of tension dissipating, he could get back to really enjoying himself. He wouldn't admit it but he was glad; because if it wasn't, he would have probably been climbing on Shinji by this point. However, that didn't mean he had infinite patience and before too long, he was starting to push his raietsu even harder on Shinji in a not-so-subtle urging to progress faster.

The spiritual nudge was well received both because Shinji's arousal was starting to ache with the desire to be inside his young comrade and because he knew his older friend wouldn't continue be content to sit and watch unless things started moving along. "First of all," he tore a portion of his attention away from the young man in his arms to the man just behind him slowly stroking his cock. "He likes to be on top." He informed as he sat down and pulled his lover into his lap before laying back.

Kensai gave a dry chuckle at the way Ichigo blushed, "Obviously."

"And make sure he can see your face," he continued.

"What else?"

"Well," the blonde stretched his arms upward, reaching up to pull out a drawer that he knew contained several different kinds of lube, "_Never, never_ do it dry." He pushed the drawer shut and sat back up.

Ichigo glared weakly downward. What was happening was embarrassing but it felt so good that he couldn't manage much conviction. He didn't have to look to know how intensely Kensai was staring at them; he could feel it. However, he wasn't up for arguing about it, no matter how uncomfortable it made him, so he screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to ignore it.

That tactic only worked until the man on the floor between his legs started pushing very slick fingers inside him. He was much less resistant to this intrusion and even pushed back before a second finger was added. When it was, he instinctively brought a hand up to his lips, a feeble attempt to muffle his sounds of obviously overwhelming sensation.

"Aht-ah. No, no," Shinji playfully scolded. "I need to hear your wonderful voice." He raised his free hand and laced his fingers with those of the hand protecting his lover's voice.

"Mmmnngh," the orange-haired vizard bit his lip through a particularly pathetic whine when the fingers inside him curled slightly and pulled him forward until there was an anxious length teasing him as well.

Kensai wasn't sure how he held back the sympathetic vocalization that was so strong it made his throat tingle, but he did. The sight before him was almost too much to bear and he squirmed with the urge to reach out to them, but that would ruin it.

"Oh, you are so stubborn," Shinji continued to tease but only until he brought their lips together.

The kiss lasted longer than Ichigo intended to allow but there was no helping it. When he violently turned away with an indignant growl, he heard Kensai gasp. He cracked an eye to see what sort of expression his host was wearing. It was something between anxiety and hopefulness. "Do you want us to fuck…or what?" he blurted out.

Part of Kensai's anxiety was replaced with a smile. He couldn't form the words so he simply nodded hopefully.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, "Good," he turned back to the man beneath him. "Then _you_ can quit teasin' me," he emphasized by removing the hand from between his legs and lacing their fingers together.

"I don't tease," Shinji was quick to defend but didn't fight his younger lover.

They heard Kensai scoff.

"I'm just…careful," he tried but they obviously didn't believe him.

"Tch, whatever," Ichigo dismissed, using his new leverage to push the blonde onto his back. Then, before any more could be said, he started to sit back on the anxious length beneath him.

All three vizard gasped sharply when the head first popped through the young man's tight ring and much go Kensai's surprise, Shinji was still conscientious enough not to immediately slam his hips upward and finish impaling him before his next heartbeat. This gave the episodic man the pleasure of watching his comrade's member disappear into his younger lover a sight that had him practically drooling.

Ichigo continued surprising Kensai by not taking a moment to rest at the base on his first thrust. Instead, he eagerly rose up and sat back down without hesitation.

"Ichi-damnit!" Shinji moaned when the young man landed a third time.

The two older vizard were then taken off guard by a sound that neither of them expected to hear. Ichigo was laughing, just a little, but it was there.

"Hey, this isn't funny!" Shinji playfully scolded.

"No, I guess not," he found he had to slow his pace to speak anywhere near intelligibly, which was a source of irritation not only for himself. "It's just…This is kinda like that one time, right?"

Shinji thought for a moment while his partner began picking up the pace again, making more difficult to think. "You mean our first time when I was…?" he trailed off into a moan.

"Hehe, yeah," he rode even harder for emphasis.

"The _longest_ day ever," he pretended to complain even though he had mentioned on one or two occasions that it had been worth it. He wanted to argue that this wasn't really anything like that, save their position but with how insistent his lover's motions happened to be, his arguments quickly turned to more sound of pleasure. Instead, he started raising his hips to meet those above his, making every thrust that much more forceful.

In the coming days, Kensai would feel the slightest twinge of regret at how much perverse pleasure he got from observing their exchange, especially after finding out that this was their first time together when neither of them was experiencing an episode. However, even that could be partially shrugged off with unnerving ease by the fact that he had been episodic at the time and pumping them full of his raietsu.

When Shinji's moans turned to those of impending orgasm, a change that he had learned to pay attention over time, Kensai was pulled from his voyeuristic revere. The time for watching was over and they were into enough now that they wouldn't argue as long as he wasn't rude, as he had been earlier.

Slowly, carefully, he approached the pair until suddenly, "Stop!" he ordered, knowing that his blonde friend was only moments from release.

Ichigo was reluctant, but complied which didn't make Shinji the happiest camper. He even made a sound of indignation to express that feeling but before he could say anything about it, he looked up into Kensai's eyes.

"You finally wanna play too?" Shinji pretended to be annoyed.

Kensai bit his lip and nodded sheepishly.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm just furniture, remember?"

The white-haired vizard would have chuckled but he was too eager to gain the approval of guest. "Ichigo…" he practically moaned.

"Are you finally…gunna tell me-ngh what you want?" the teen teased.

"I just want to…to share your pleasure," he managed.

Not as specific as he would have liked but he understood enough to nod. Before he could blink, he was on his back, Shinji pinning him and slowly starting their rhythm again. In a small moment of courtesy, Kensai snatched up the hastily discarded bottle of lubricant and poured some on his aching member before entering his blonde comrade with one decisive motion.

The older pair each gave a choked-out moan, both nearly cumming from that action. Neither realized it, but it was Ichigo's momentary discomfort from the jagged nature of their outburst that held them back.

They continued from there, a moaning, writhing pile of sweat and skin. In the few moments when Ichigo could open his eyes, he was rewarded with the sight of both the men above him gasping with pleasure. Every time he looked, it didn't last long, it was a sight he could barely stand without feeling orgasm nearly crash over him.

After the third, or maybe the fourth, time he cracked an eye, he couldn't stand it any longer and did finally cum, something he didn't really expect to happen twice in such a short period. He also didn't expect the effect it would have on the other two vizard, who came as well in a domino effect set off by the young man's violent release.

As soon as the last wave of orgasm washed over him, Kensai was quick to withdraw. Quicker than he would have preferred anyway, but such is the case when you're laying on top of two other people. He leaned back on his hands and caught his breath for a second before crawling back over to the little refrigerator across the room.

Shinji and Ichigo, on the other hand, were more willing to allow the moment to linger. The orange-haired vizard, in his post-orgasmic haze, even whispered a quick, "I love you," to his partner.

"I know. I love you too," he whispered. "But if you keep saying things like that, you're likely to embarrass me," he teased ironically.

"Shut up," Ichigo rolled his eyes before rolling the blonde off him.

Thus removed from his handsome partner, Shinji took it upon himself to find a wet towel to clean up with, as he seemed to have gotten the messiest. In the meantime, Ichigo took a moment to get a good look at the man who brought him here.

"Kensai…" he began carefully.

When he turned to face his guest, he had a can of beer in hand, "What is it?"

"You're still…" he began but trailed off, substituting words with a vague hand gesture.

Kensai gave an uncharacteristic blush only to have a damp towel thrown in his face a moment later. He gave a dry chuckle as he cleaned himself up. "Don' worry 'bout it," he slurred, "I'm good."

The orange-haired vizard shook his head and gave a sigh of resignation, finally giving up on trying to understand his motives. Instead, he focused on cleaning up and putting his pants back on. Once his fly was done up, Shinji tossed him a can, the same kind Kensai happened to be drinking from.

"'Ey! He's not old enough," the reclining man complained.

"You don't even start with that," Shinji playfully scolded. "Besides, you hate to drink alone, remember?"

"But you got one too," Kensai pointed to the open can in his comrade's hand.

"I'm just furniture, remember?" the blonde scoffed.

Ichigo accepted and actually enjoyed his beverage. However, he only made it about halfway through before he passed out.

Once the teen started snoring, Kensai took the half-empty can to finish for himself. He wasn't the only one to notice how soundly the young man was sleeping and Shinji wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste. After draping a blanket over his young lover, he turned to his old friend.

"That was certainly interesting," he carefully began.

Kensai pursed his lips and couldn't bring himself to make eye contact. "Yeah, I guess it was," he scratched the back of his head, one of the man's few nervous tells.

"Just one question," he carefully bargained.

"Shoot."

"What did you want?" He had a pretty good idea but he wanted to hear the other man say it.

"What did I want? I wanted a lot of things. Mostly, I wanted to see two people who really care about each other. That sort of connection makes everything so much more intense. The other reason I feel a little guilty about now." He only hesitated for a moment before continuing, knowing that if he took any longer than that, the words would not come as easily. "I wanted to see if you really do care about him. He's so young, you know you could get away with doing very little for him and he would still be satisfied with you. He trusts you a lot and I can see now that it's well earned."

"And?"

"And I'm sorry that I doubted you."

"For quite a while there you had me thinking that at least part of this was designed to get back at me for…uhh," he trailed off.

"Well, I'll admit, for quite a while I wanted to get back at you _so bad_…but that feeling went away after a while and let's face it, revenge isn't something you can force…once it's gone, it's gone; ya know?"

Shinji shrugged. "What changed?" he was almost afraid to ask.

Kensai rolled his eyes, "Does it matter?

"I guess not," the blonde reluctantly complied. His rather private comrade had already divulged more in the last few minutes, let alone the last few hours, than he had in years.

"I got to sit and talk with him," he vaguely referred to the night he spent drinking with the young man. "Like I said, he really likes you and if you really like him…I would never be able to forgive myself if I prevented one of us from having something real."

"Then why not leave well enough alone?"

"He said yes to me so easily, I couldn't help myself."

"And if I hadn't come along?"

"Then I would've been a lot nicer to him. I didn't really wanna be the bad guy but it made it easier for you to come to his rescue, if you know what I mean."

Shinji frowned. He knew exactly what he meant and he was a little annoyed at how easily the other man manipulated his relationship. "What if I hadn't played along?"

Kensai rolled his eyes. "Are you asking if I would have forced myself on him to make you act?"

"Something like that."

"You know me better than that," he dismissed.

"I do…but he doesn't. And he doesn't deserve that kind of disregard." He was only a little annoyed until he saw the grin his comrade was wearing. Then he was almost ready to strike him. "Damnit, Kensai."

"I'm sorry. It's just that…it's been a long time since you've looked at anyone like that. I'm really happy for you…if only a _little_ jealous."

Shinji gave his old friend a look of disbelief.

"And you better be careful," he advised, the slightest twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Why's that?"

"'Cause if you can't hold on to him, he's likely to get snatched up by someone else," he warned.

It was enough to make the blonde smile. "Are you going to apologize to him?"

"For what?"

"For being a forceful jerk."

"Well, I had intended to explain myself if he asked."

"Good. Thanks."

"Good. Now that that's over, I'm fuckin' beat." The white-haired vizard crawled up onto the bed and passed out.

Shinji gave a heavy sigh. He was also very tired but he didn't really feel like sleeping. Having the feelings for his young lover drug out into the naked light like that made his soul restless. Before he realized it, he found himself staring at the orange-haired vizard as he slept. Occasionally, his brow would furrow or the corners of his mouth would twitch. His fawning also rewarded him the privilege of hearing a few very adorable little sleeping sounds.

Another sigh later and he was looking around the room, it was a total mess. He decided to ignore the mess and take a hot shower instead.


	29. Shopping

The title of this chapter is a little deceptive as the part has nothing to do with shopping (it is mostly talking). I hope no one minds. (I might change the title later if something better comes to me.)

* * *

Only a few minutes after Shinji entered the shower that the orange-haired teen began to stir. He lay still for a moment to listen. He could hear one person breathing nearby and a little further off, running water. He cracked an eye to find that he was all but alone. Pleased by this, he crawled with all the stealth he learned from Yuroichi over to the form passed out on the bed. With an evil grin, he climbed up onto the bed. He knew the level of caution he was exhibiting was unnecessary, the man on the bed was passed out cold; he could have just as well hopped onto the bed and he wouldn't have been disturbed in the least.

This made attempting to wake the large man sprawled out beneath him an interesting task. He started by stroking his feathery white hair. When that didn't work, he gave a wholly unappreciated pout. After that, he got an idea. He leaned over until his lips were millimeters from the older vizard's right ear.

"Kensai-san," he whispered. The man tossed his head from side to side and gave an indignant whine at the interruption of his rest. The young man gave a little giggle and repeated the name, this time a little more sweetly.

"Nnngh-Ichigo?" Kensai grumbled, obviously disoriented and confused.

He giggled again and pulled back, revealing that he wasn't exactly the young man in question.

When he saw the hollow's eye looking back at him, his breath caught and he tried to push him off. "What th-"

With lightening speed he pinned one of the man's shoulders with one hand and cover his mouth with the other. "Shhh," he leaned down again, this time bringing them face to face, nearly nose to nose. "Listen closely 'cause I'm only gunna say this once." Not only because he disliked repeating himself but also because he didn't think he'd get an opportunity like this again. "I have no control over who you screw around with _but_ if you screw up this thing between King and Blondie, I will do everything I can to make sure that your inner world rains so much that your hollow will drown," he warned. "Got it?" He slowly removed his hand to allow the one beneath him a chance to speak.

Kensai frowned. "Yeah, got it," he reluctantly agreed.

"Good," he tried to move away but found a clumsy hand on his wrist, preventing him from going too far.

"You're really caring, for a heartless parasite," he bitterly observed.

"Thanks, but I assure you, it's purely selfish. That bastard dries my skies," he bitterly informed, obviously not pleased by that fact but still willing to defend a circumstance that worked to his benefit.

Kensai gave a dry chuckle and let go. "Whatever."

"Oh, I heard your little conversation."

"Oh? What of it?"

"Make sure you really do _explain yourself_ to him. I really don't want to listen to him think about it because he can't figure you out."

"If you heard it, why not tell'em yourself?"

"Oh, come now, you know that he believes everything I say is a lie. Now, go back to sleep, ya freaky piece of shit," he shoved off the man and headed to the bathroom. He knew he wouldn't be able to run around for much longer before his king realized that part of him was still awake.

Kensai wanted to stop him but the bed seemed to be spinning so he took the thing's advice and forced himself back to sleep, only a grumble signaling his disapproval, "Now _that_ was interesting."

It was so pleased by how that went that it was humming and a rather childish tune at that: _You Are My Sunshine_.

Shinji was so caught up in his own thoughts that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the humming; he didn't recognize the tune but he did recognize the timbre. However, there wasn't a whole lot he could do. "I-Ichi-" was as far as he got before a hand wiped the steam away from a small portion of the glass shower wall, confirming the blonde's suspicions by revealing his gold and ink eyes for a moment before the glass fogged over again. Shinji reached a careful hand toward the door but as soon as he did, the teen was leaning against it, using his body weight to hold it shut and making it so that he couldn't open the door without force and the risk of breaking the glass. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. "Why are you here?" It was a safer question than asking it what it wanted.

It laughed a little. "Don't you at least have a guess?" it asked while wiping away another patch of steam to peek in at the soaked blonde.

"I don't like guessing games," he glared back through the small window until it too was recovered with steam.

It pouted, giving a little whine for emphasis. "You should be nicer to me. I can be a lot of fun too ya know," he teased.

"Does he know you're here?"

"Naw, he's passed out cold. Yer friend did quite a number on'em….but don't you worry your pretty little head about him. He's gunna be A-okay!" It started laughing again.

"Well, that's good to hear," he didn't bother trying to conceal his sarcasm.

"Don't try to pretend like you weren't worried," he chided.

"I'm only gunna ask you one more time," Shinji began.

"Er wut? You gunna bust through this door and kick this pretty ass?" he pressed his still bare backside against the door.

"Actually, yeah, I will." He knew that Ichigo would prefer take the brunt of a quick beating than suffer under the control of his inner hollow, even if he wasn't conscious.

"Tch," it scoffed. "Yeah, right. But," it pulled away from the door, "I don't wanna fight ya." After waiting a moment to see if the man inside would come out and seeing that he wasn't inclined, he continued. "I'm jus' tryin' ta figure out what he sees in you."

Shinji made a dismissive sound and tried to continue his shower. Since he was no longer 'trapped', he didn't feel the need to attempt escape. "Don't you like me?" he asked with mock disappointment.

"I didn't say that…" he nearly mewled. There was a lot that the older vizard had to offer that very much enjoyed. "But…he don' think like I do and as far as I can see," it wiped a larger portion of steam away so that he could get a better view, "you're just a pretty piece of ass, a cute little slut. He don' usually go for that."

The man in the shower frowned deeply as the hollow giggle; it was thoroughly enjoying the little peepshow.

"Oh, don' make that face. Yer so much prettier when ya smile. When you smile fer'im…he gives me a break from the rain," he confessed again and only because these men might know what he was talking about.

Shinji's frown weakened at that admission.

"May I come in there witcha?" it suddenly asked and when the man inside hesitated, he forced a, "please."

With a sigh of reluctance and a look that said he knew he would probably regret it later, he pushed open the door and moved back into the full spray.

The hollow controlling his lover's body raked his eyes over the fair skin before him, slightly pinkened by the obviously too hot shower, and licked his lips. "Mmmm…never mind. I don' think it'll do any good ta know why he gives a shit aboutcha. I prolly wouldn't get it anyway," and for him that had the potential to be even more irritating.

Shinji was surprised to find that they weren't at least touching by this point. In fact, the hollow was shifting with obvious discomfort.

"What's the matter?"

It sneered for a moment before breaking eye contact, "I despise water," it nearly hissed.

"Then why follow me in here?"

The hollow rolled his golden eyes with a sigh of indignant reluctance. He knew that his king and this blonde man needed to have some time together before either of them had too much time to over-think what happened. As much as he despised water, he despised having to listen to the teen's unconscious part of the teen's mind, the part he spent the most time with, babble on and on and on and on _andonandonandon_ about things that should have been obvious. He wasn't often gifted the opportunity to guide his king in his personal relationships, at least not past the extent of automatically discarded suggestions so, he stepped into the spray, making it easier for him to relinquish control.

Shinji watched, somewhat disturbed as the teen's eyes slid shut and he stumbled forward. He barely caught the orange-haired vizard without slipping himself. "Ichigo?" he barely asked when he saw the young man's eyelids were starting to flutter and behind them were the dark chocolate eyes he loved so much.

"Shinji?" Ichigo's brow furrowed as he tried to gather his bearings. "What…Why…?"

Unsure whether the young man's unawareness of what just transpired was good or bad, he lied, "You were sleepwalking. The water woke you."

With a nervous laugh, Ichigo stood. "Well, I guess I needed a shower anyway."

"I can't say I mind the company," he pulled them together again and started washing the young man, something he had wanted to do ever since his first episode with the young vizard.

It was perfect. They were both so spent from their activities with Kensai that they could focus on simply enjoying the simple pleasures of non-verbal communication and physical contact.

It wasn't until their shower was over and they were toweling off that either of them felt the need to speak.

"So-ah, what are you doing this Saturday?" Shinji finally asked.

"I dunno. I don't usually make plans 'cause Rukia always shows and she's all like _It's your responsibility to slay hollows blah, blah blah._"

Shinji laughed at the disparaging impression. "Care to break that tradition for one night? That is unless the world needs saving by the great Kurosaki Ichigo, then you may run off and do whatever life threatening thing you desire. I promise, I won't stand in your way," he teased.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. What do you wanna do?"

"I dunno. I'll think of something." Shinji shrugged, having not really gotten that far into his plan. He had been too worried about getting to that point.

"Okay," Ichigo laughed a little before setting off to find his clothes which, surprisingly enough, weren't too dirty. As he dressed, he took a moment to look at the man passed out on the large bed pushed into the corner. He didn't realize how long he had been staring until a voice behind him brought him back to reality.

"Look, Ichigo. He wouldn't've-" he began but when Ichigo turned around and he saw the look in his eyes, he stopped.

"Can we go for a walk?" the partially dressed vizard suddenly asked.

"Uh, sure. Just a minute."

"I'll meet you outside." Ichigo left with having only putting his pants on, signaling that he intended to return. Once they were a few steps away from the shack, he prompted knowingly, "So you were saying?"

"Oh, yeah…" he hesitated. "I just wanted to make sure you knew he wouldn't've hurt you."

Ichigo gave a dry smile, "Yeah. I knew that. I guess it's part of the reason I didn't really fight him," he mused.

"Are you sure?" Shinji pressed. The last thing he needed was for his young lover to be emotionally damaged by an experience he very well could have removed him from.

"Huh? Yeah. Why?" He asked because he was offended by the other man's doubt.

"Well, it's just…I saw the panicked look in your eyes. Like I said, I was just making sure."

Ichigo pursed his lips. "If you didn't know about my-um…bad experiences with arancar, would you worry as much? Or would you just let it go?" One of the only reasons he had been able to come up with for why Shinji would feel the need to hold back as much as he did was because of how Grimmjaw and Ulquiorra had treated him. He wasn't exactly over it and knew it wasn't exactly something one just 'got over' but also wasn't something that ruled his thoughts, at least not any more.

Shinji frowned. He didn't like to think he was protective of Ichigo because he was 'damaged goods', as he once put, but it had crossed his mind. "I dunno."

"'Cause I _really_ like you but I can't put up with being treated like I'm some fragile little thing that you can break. You're good, but you're not _that_ good," at least, not yet, he mentally added.

They both took a moment of silence to gather their thoughts but when the slightest bit of guilt played across Shinji's features, Ichigo gave a disapproving frown and broke eye contact.

"Hey! Damnit! Give me a chance here. You can judge me based on one expression. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, I've only held back when _you_ made me."

That made Ichigo think and it was his turn to look guilty for a moment.

"_And_ if I were stupid enough to treat you like that, you can bet your ass I wouldn't've just laid there and let you eat off me like that."

Ichigo blinked stupidly for a moment. "No, I guess not. I dunno. I'm sorry. That meal, or whatever it was, has me all confused. I don't think I ever realized how strange Kensai is."

"You never realize now strange someone is until you spend the night in their bed…or at their table as it were."

"Are you calling me strange?" Ichigo playfully countered, lightening the mood considerably.

Shinji gave a cheeky grin but knew better than to answer. Instead, he provided different bits of information, equally valuable to the young man. "He wanted me to rescue you, or something," he vaguely gestured. "He likes it when things are, as he says, _genuine_."

Ichigo blushed at that. "Genuine?"

"Yeah."

"Is he gunna try to apologize then?"

Shinji pursed his lips, remembering that he asked a very similar question. "Probably, why?"

"Could ya ask'em not to. I really don't wanna hear it. I mean, like I said, I knew it was okay, 'sides I coulda got away if I wanted to."

"Yeah, I guess I could do that."

By the time that conversation was over, they were back where they started. "Cool," Ichigo went back inside to get his things.

The sounds of their return caused the man on the bed to stir once again. He grumbled at the interruption but knew better than to complain.

"So Saturday?" Ichigo made sure before heading for the door. "What time?"

"How's six?"

"Perfect," he winked and was rewarded with the slightest blush lighting up his lover's face.

The wink had Shinji twitterpated almost long enough for Ichigo to exit, but not quite. As soon as he regained his sense a bit, he caught the young man. "You're not getting away that easily," he brought their lips together in a sweet but still very naughty good-bye kiss.

When Shinji let him go, Ichigo took his leave.

As much as Kensai wanted to give his comrade a hard time, he was still very tired and tried once again to go back to sleep. To his surprise, Shinji took a moment to cover him with a blanket before leave as well, but not without a few words, "Oh, don't worry about apologizing to him; he understands, I guess."

Kensai would be pleased by this later. For now, he was pleased by the blanket and the renewed silence.

* * *

Over the course of the week between him and his first official date with Ichigo, Shinji agonized over what, exactly, was appropriate date material. Dinner and a movie was right-out, too conventional. Clubbing would be fun, but Ichigo didn't really seem like the type to enjoy that scene. Perhaps a picnic? That might work, but then choosing the place was the issue. Luckily for him, they weren't limited by distance, but broadening his choices wasn't helping make a decision.

He wasn't the only one agonizing. Ichigo couldn't help trying to imagine what an actual date with Shinji would be like. From day one, he figured that Shinji was just the kind of person who didn't really go on dates, too romantic and not spontaneous enough. Maybe that's what the blonde was going for. The idea made Ichigo wonder if maybe his lover was offering such a gesture simply for his benefit. However, considering the comments that preceded the invitation, he doubted this, making the situation as perplexing as it was endearing. To his astonishment, his inner hollow had very little to offer on the matter. It was unusual and unnerving but a pleasant relief from business as usual.

However, Ichigo knew that if it wasn't one thing, there was always something equally annoying to deal with instead. In this instance, where his hollow remained eerily silent, Kon refused to let it go. Most of the time, it was just stupid jokes or innuendos made simply to fluster or infuriate him. That he could deal with but when the mod soul started wanting to have another 'real conversation' with him, that's when he became standoffish rather than dismissive.

"Quit pacin' around! Yer startin' to make me nervous," Kon complained.

Ichigo's reply was a simple glare.

"What are you so anxious about anyway?"

"I'm not anxious," the teen dismissed.

"Uh-huh, whatever. You always pace like this when there's something bothering you so either spill it or go pace somewhere else."

"This is _my_ room. If you don't like it, you can leave," he stopped for a moment to point an angry finger at the stuffed lion.

"Where am _I_ supposed to go like this?" he motioned to himself. "Unless you want me outta hear so bad you could spare your body for a few hours," he teased, knowing there was no way in hell that was going to happen.

"You're just lucky I don't throw you out the window and let you figure out how to get back in by yourself."

"I'm sure I could manage." If he could have rolled his eyes, he would have but the promise he made to Ichigo's father the night he saved his life prevented him from saying anything more than that. "So, really, is there something wrong or are you just losin' it?" he tried again, this time with a lighter tone.

"Nothing's _wrong_," he managed.

"Then why can't you sit still?"

To prove that he could, in fact, sit still, he took a seat on his bed, across from the stuffed animal sprawled out near the afore mentioned window. To his disappointment, Kon only took that as an invitation to move closer himself. After a closer look at the teen's face, he conceeded, "Nothin's wrong…but you got somthin' on your mind… I can see it," he informed accusingly.

Ichigo pursed his lips and leaned away from the invasive plushy.

"Come on, tell me about it. It's not like we have anything better to do and stewin' about it doesn't seem to be helping," he coaxed.

"Why should I tell _you_?"

"Oh, I see. I thought we were finally past all this crap. My mistake." The look of astonished disgust and disbelief Ichigo gave him bade him to continue, to push a little more. The worst that could happen would be having the threat of being thrown through the window fulfilled and he'd dealt with that before. "I thought that after all we've been through, you could _occasionally_ drop the tough-guy crap when you weren't up for it."

Ichigo stood and started pacing again. "You're gunna laugh at me," he informed.

"So?" Kon shrugged.

"So? That's all you have to say?"

"Well, I don't see why that would matter. You laugh at me all the time. Besides, you don't care what I think, remember?"

The orange-haired teen gave a defeated sigh, "I have a date this weekend." When Kon didn't laugh or say anything, he finally looked back to the bed where he was once again reclined. "Well?"

If the form Kon was forced to use was capable of any real expressions, Ichigo would have recognized the shock clearly. "Oh, sorry. Really?"

"Yes really," he impatiently replied.

"_Sorry_, but it's not like you ever go out, let alone on dates. You're not exactly a socialite, ya know."

Ichigo frowned deeply. He had just been thinking that before the mod soul interrupted his train of thought. He was really comfortable around Shinji but being that comfortable with someone in public wasn't something he was used to. He had a big enough problem with other people's public displays of affection that he didn't even want to think about how he would react if Shinji, who happened to be a very physically affectionate person, made that kind of advance at a restaurant or on the street. He knew his instinct was to recoil, to stall until they were alone. He also knew that would probably not be acceptable, at least not for very long.

"So…who is it?" he asked, careful to avoid any presumptuous pronouns.

The teen cock an eyebrow. "Who do you think?"

"Is it blondie?" he asked hopefully.

Ichigo rolled his eyes with an expression that said, 'Who else would it be?' "Don't call him that."

"Did he ask you? Or did you ask him?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'm just curious. You weren't nervous before you saw him last so my guess is that he asked you." The look Ichigo gave him told him he was right. "If that's the case, you should just chill out. If he asked you then you get to just sit back and enjoy the ride."

"Since when are you the relationship expert? Have you even ever been on a date?"

"Have you?" the mod soul countered accusingly but didn't wait for an answer, "Look, there's only so much on TV; I have to think about something to keep myself from going insane locked up in this house half the time and running for your life the other half. Anyway, like I said, quit worrying about it. He seems like the kinda guy who's been on a date or two."

"If you think you're being helpful, you're not," Ichigo dismissed, unwilling to admit that what he was hearing did make him feel a little bit better.

"But…if you wanted to feel like you were doing something, you could always get him a present."

"Excuse me? I don't remember asking you for advice."

"Nothing big, of course," he added offhandedly.

"Ugh! You are _useless_." Ichigo grabbed the lion and threw him out the window only to leave the house moments later, heading in the direction of the shopping district.

Kon, instead of trying to sneak back inside, headed over to the Urahara Shop.

"Kon? To what do I owe the pleasure?" the shopkeeper teased in spite of his surprise.

The mod soul laughed a little. "I don't suppose you have an extra gigai laying around. I'm gettin' sick of sittin' around like this."

"I'm afraid the only kind of gigai I have right now are defective and since you're not exactly according to spec, I don't think it would be safe."

"Figures…" he wandered around the shop.

"Was there something you wanted to do?"

"Not really…." he just used the complaint as a conversation starter. "Though some of this candy looks pretty good," he hopped up onto one of the counters to look into the bins of sweets. "Do you know what kind Ichigo likes?"

Kisuke almost said, "I know what kind he doesn't like," but instead he managed, "I think he likes some of those on the end of that row," he motioned to some that were near where the stuffed lion was standing. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinkin' I could get some now and stash it until I get his body again. Since I'll be using his taste buds, I figured it wouldn't hurt to know what he likes."

"Then perhaps something like this," the blonde man offered a small plastic jar containing a variety of individually wrapped pieces of chocolate."

Kon thought for a moment, "Maybe. What else do you have?"

This went on for the better part of twenty minutes before deciding. "There are almost too many choices," he laughed. "But I think I'll go with this one," he pointed to a small box containing only two chocolates.

"Are you sure? Two chocolates isn't much of a stash," he pointed out.

This was one of the few moments that he was glad that his face was incapable of much expression. As anyone who knew him could tell, he didn't have much of a poker face. "No, it's not…but I don't exactly have any money."

"Well that is a problem," Kisuke teased. "Though I suppose I could put you to work, like I do the others when they can't pay up," he motioned to Renji who happened to be grumbling and sweeping the porch.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Taking out a few garbages, his usual chore when occupying the plushy, was worth it.

A few minutes later, he was back in the shop, on the counter waiting for the man to put his purchase in something that was easier for him to carry.

"Ya know…if you're willing to do me one more small favor, I'll throw these in too," he set the jar of candies that he first suggested to the mod soul on the counter next to the ones he'd picked out.

"Whatcha need?" he asked as he took another, closer look at the jar and the delicious temptations inside.

The man in the hat gave a mischievous grin and a wink. "You wanted some time in a body, right?"

"Yeah…"

"How picky are you?"

"Not very," the mod soul reluctantly admitted. Especially when it came to occupying actual living bodies, there wasn't much he'd turn down. With gigai, he was a little more selective, but not much, as just about anything was better than 'stupid stuffed lion'.

"Then, how 'bout my body?" the man proposed, his voice husky.

Kon gave a look of disbelief, an expression that was once again understated by the sub-par capabilities of his current form. "You…Your body? Why?" he asked even though he had a pretty good idea.

"You're not in Ichigo's body, you don't have to pretend to be that dense," Kisuke teased.

"Just checking."

"What do you say?"

The mod soul shifted uncomfortably. Being with Ichigo while in his human form was something he frequently fantasized about but the notion that he could do the same with others had not crossed his mind. "I-Well…" He stammered for a moment before finding his composure again. "I dunno. That's a pretty steep price for such a small container of candy," he teased.

"I see how you are…" the shopkeeper gathered up the treats and the stuffed animal. After poking his head out the door to talk to the still-sweeping Renji, "Hey, watch the shop for a few min-er, for a while-'till I get back-would ya?" he ordered before ducking back inside and making b-line for his bedroom.

After tossing the food on the bedside stand, he pulled the green candy from the stuffed animal. Then, he hopped onto the bed, landing on his hands and knees. He popped the candy into his mouth and felt himself being propelled backward from his body. It was a strange sensation but only because he wasn't used to it.

As soon as Kon had control of Kisuke's physical form, he nearly toppled over, his normal grace stolen by being so suddenly thrust into a body he'd never used before. The man behind and over him gave a soft chuckle, "Easy now." Seeing that the mod soul was still rather disoriented, he guided his head down to one of his soft down pillows. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Kon blushed profusely at the gentle but still very sudden attention. "I- It's okay," he finally conceded after a moment to gather his bearings.

Kisuke leaned down and whispered into his neck, "May I?" he practically purred and didn't wait for an answer before starting to kissing and suckling a few of the spots he knew were especially sensitive.

"Ah-" Kon gasped, "That's not fair!" he wiggled beneath the shopkeeper but when he brought his hands up to push the man away, he only ended up grabbing him and pulling him closer.

The man on top ignored the accusation, mostly because the implication was accurate. It wasn't exactly fair for him to immediately take advantage of his personal knowledge like that. "Who cares about fair? This isn't a contest," he informed as he laced his fingers in his hair and gave the slightest tug to one side. His next words spoke while teasing his ear with his lips and tongue, "I'm beginning to think you've spent too much time with that overly competitive young man."

The mod soul in the shopkeeper's body thought about that for a moment, a moment that lasted a little longer than it should have because of the delicious distractions. Then, he laughed.

"Hmm?" Kisuke distractedly prompted.

"You've already showed me that being at a disadvantage to you isn't such a bad time," he mused. He barely made it through that thought because when he started to speak, someone started nipping at his throat. Then he could only manage a series of rather pathetic whimpers that sounded as much like he thought he should sound as they did foreign which in itself was somewhat disorienting. "And I think I've showed that I'll take what I can get, ya know?"

Regardless of how true it was, or how much of a relief it was that Kon knew himself that well, it was still unnerving to have someone show such little self-confidence. Kisuke pursed his lips in thought for a moment but was quickly torn from those thoughts by the concerned look in the familiar eyes beneath him.

"Spacin' out on me?" Kon accused, obviously a little hurt.

"Not at all…" he cooed while mentally scolding himself for underestimating the mod soul's perceptiveness. "Just thinking about what I want to do with you." He smiled when that caused Kon's feature's to soften.

"And?" he asked sheepishly.

Kisuke bit his lip for a moment; he couldn't help marveling at the expressions the mod soul made through his body. The kinds of expressions that Kon made were something that the shopkeeper considered something of a tell in that it was how he could immediately tell the difference between Ichigo and Kon. Even their smiles were miles and away different from one another. To see that transposed through his own features was a bit of a head trip for him. "Why don't we get a little more comfortable," he pulled back and started to remove his robes.

Kon wasn't the least bit surprised by the soul reaper robes that the shopkeeper's soul form wore even though he'd never seen or heard of them before. It wasn't something he had to think about, it just made sense. However, that didn't mean he didn't gawk just a little, as anyone would after watching someone undertake such a dramatic change of costume, but that's all it was. In a half-hearted attempt to disguise his staring, he followed suit in removing his robes and tossing them, with the stripped hat, off the side of the bed.

When the former captain reached forward, Kon almost stole an awkward embrace from him but when he saw that he didn't have his eyes on him, he hesitated and lost his chance. Kisuke snatched up the container of candies on his bedside stand and pulled out two, setting the rest aside. "Here," he tossed one to the mod soul who fumbled to catch it.

Kon glared when the man laughed at the fumble but unwrapped the chocolate anyway.

"I'm sorry. I should know better." Again he found himself mentally scolding himself, this time for not considering how much different his body was from that of the young man. Just getting down the basic coordination would take at least a few minutes. When they were finished, he threw the wrappers off the side of the bed and coaxed his body to lay down on his stomach.

Kon wanted to ask what was going on but he figured that he'd find out soon enough. Kisuke had a tendency not to elaborate on things that would be revealed anyway and while this was a constant annoyance to most of the people he did business with, Kon couldn't really care less most of the time. He didn't expect what happened next but he moaned just the same when strong hands started kneading the muscles of his shoulders and back.

"I had a pretty rough morning…" Kisuke confessed, working some of the more tender areas first.

A weak, "Uh-huh," was all the he could manage in response. He hadn't realized how tense the shopkeeper's muscles were until they started to loosen up, which happened to be one of the best feelings the mod soul had ever experienced.

"Apparently, hollow's don't sleep in…everyone left this morning five minutes before the delivery truck arrived. I had to put everything away by myself."

"I can tell," he whispered before giving another particularly satisfied groan, melting further into the mattress. After that, he gave up on speaking in favor of enjoying the message in silence, well near silence. However, when the soul reaper continued downward and started working on his legs, he found himself speaking again. "Why…are you doing this?" he couldn't help asking.

"Is there something wrong?" Kisuke asked distractedly. He was pleased to find that though he knew his legs were sore, they didn't have the same kinds of tightly wound knots as his back and shoulders. This left him one more area to work out, his feet. He made sure to stay in close contact with the body beneath his as he turned around.

"No, of course not," Kon quickly defended and was glad that the man showed no signs of wanting to withdraw in spite of his awkward question. "It's just not what I expected, that's all. This is the first time I've ever gotten a massage; I guess I'm just a little nervous, that's aaaw-ooohh," he practically howled his last word when the former captain ran his thumb up the arch of his foot, from the heal to the ball, with enough pressure to make his nervousness practically disappear.

"That won't do," Kisuke teased as he continued the steady pressure by rolling his thumb in circles up and down the same tendon. "The whole point is to relax."

Kon gave a nervous laugh. "Don't worry, I couldn't stop myself from relaxing if I wanted to." He was too embarrassed to say that he still did have some tension, but it was pooling in one spot. He could feel himself getting hard and it made him want to squirm but there was one problem, Kisuke happened to have taken to sitting on his backside, facing away so that he could bend his legs at the knee (which, as far as he was concerned, the optimal position for delivering a foot massage for several reasons).

"That's good to hear…" Kisuke cooed, moving to the other foot to apply the same treatment. He knew by the way that Kon allowed his foot to fall to the mattress that he was indeed very relaxed, except for one part. The hips beneath him would occasionally twitch with the restrained desire to move far more than they were allowed.

Just when he thought the man sitting on him was finished, he picked up one of his feet again. His time he felt the tickle of a soft kiss on the sole, just beneath the curl of his toes. It tickled and made him flinch. Had the man holding his foot not been expecting such a reaction, he probably would have gotten kicked in the face. A half-hearted sound of apology later and he started rubbing on the spot that, as Yuroichi taught him, drove him up a wall. A muffled little whimper told him when he got it right.

Kon's eyes rolled and his back arched ever so slightly. If he could have seen the former captain's face he would have realized that this new massage was actually intended to arouse him. The fact that the intimate attention in general was having that effect anyway didn't exactly help either. He was all but rolling his hips when it stopped, his foot falling back to the mattress and him giving a whine that was almost too pathetic, even for him. Then, he wasn't sure if he should be pleased or dismayed when the man grabbed his other foot and started in on the same spot.

"Aaahh…Kisu-ke," he gasped.

"Shhh…I'm almost finished," he shushed.

"Nnngh…just-_please_-stop for a sec," he pleaded.

"Please don't say things like that," he nearly pleaded back.

Kon gave another whimper. "But-hhaah," he tried not to moan.

"Shhhh…" he tried to soothe, giving the sole another soft little kiss.

"It feels…too good. I'm gunna-" he bit his lip and pressed his face into the pillows.

"I know. It's okay, go'head," he urged, his voice soft while the pressure of his touches increased.

"Ah-but…" he made a sound of epic frustration as he trailed off.

"Whatever it is, don't worry about it."

The order was spoken so matter-of-factly that Kon couldn't help obeying. Moments later his back was arching and his hips were rolling. Every little sound and movement served to egg the soul reaper on, make him increase the pressure. Before he realized that he had reached the breaking point, he was cumming and much harder that either of them expected. "Mmmm-Kisuu," he mewled as he felt any tension he might have had totally leave him.

The mod soul would have passed out almost immediately if the person sitting on him hadn't started moving around. Soon, he found that he was forcing himself to stay awake to enjoy the wonderful feeling of sure and careful fingers running through his hair.

When Kisuke noticed that his double was somewhat reluctant to maintain eye-contact, he appoligized. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have told you what I was doing…but you can only be surprised by something like that once." To his delight, his reasoning was received with a bashful smile.

"No-Thank you," he asserted. "That was amazing."

"Yes. It's unfortunate that it's not something that everybody can enjoy," he added somewhat offhandedly.

"Oh?" Kon wasn't terribly surprised by this.

"Oh, yes and if you consider that most people who can enjoy it don't realize it, well," he trailed off, knowing that no more needed to be said.

Kon gave a nod of vague recognition; he was starting to drift off again.

As much as Kisuke wanted to let the mod soul enjoy some rest, he still had much to do. "I'm sorry to do this but," he trailed off again this time because he didn't need to speak to the mod soul candy once it was removed from his body.

When Kon realized he was back in the body of the stuffed lion he was disappointed but everything that led up to that made the disappointment worth it. He watched as the man took a few minutes to change clothes, as Kon had done a fine job of making a mess of them but not without help. It wasn't until the blonde was slipping into a fresh pair of underwear that he spoke, surprising both of them by blurting out something that had been on his mind for quite some time now. "You remember that first day…The day you gave me to Rukia for Ichigo?" It was something that had bothered him ever since that day but he hadn't felt comfortable enough around the shopkeeper to ask until now.

"Of course. What about it?" There was very little that the former captain forgot.

"You said that I was defective." He pointed out, now regretting that he even brought it up.

"Not just you. All of the mod souls created in that project had something wrong with them."

Kon frowned, more at the mention of the other souls than at his inherent deficiencies. "You said that you planed to destroy it." He used the same pronoun that was used that day, one that irritated him but he used it anyway to get his point across.

"Yes. I said something like that." He wouldn't commit to those words exactly but he knew the sentiment was correct.

"Were you really gunna do it?" he finally asked, once again glad that the true dept of his feelings couldn't be read through his outward features.

"Why are you asking me this?" Kisuke didn't turn to face him when he asked.

"I just wanna know. Call it morbid curiosity," he offered.

"That day," he paused, "You caused so much trouble that day, I really did have a mind to destroy your soul candy."

Kon gave a dry laugh. He knew it, but hearing the man admit it was something different entirely.

"Of course, I feel much differently now."

"Of course. Now that I've proven myself useful," he rolled his eyes but to little effect.

"How does he treat you?" Kisuke suddenly asked a question that had been plaguing him for almost as long.

"Who?" he asked to buy a moment to think because he knew exactly who they were talking about now.

"Kurosaki."

"Fine. I guess. We don't really expect a whole lot from each other," he confessed.

"That's not true. He expects you to take care of his life while he's out risking his soul and you expect him to return…eventually," the man pointed out.

"Yeah, but it ends there. We don't like talk or anything like that, if that's what you mean." He silently cursed himself. There was so much of him that needed to vent about all the terrible and inconsiderate things that were done to him but he couldn't bring himself to bad-mouth the teen in that way. Even if he wasn't treated very well, it was because of Ichigo that Kon still existed.

Kisuke frowned. The mod soul was being rather evasive but he didn't want to push it so he simply made an offer, "Well, if you get to where you don't want to stay there anymore, you could always stay here instead. It's close enough to the Kurosaki Clinic that it wouldn't be a problem," and left it at that.

Kon nodded and let the shopkeeper carry him out. They quietly said their good-byes on the porch, not completely out of earshot of the red-head still trying to clean things up. Then Kisuke leaned against the door frame and watched the small stuffed animal walk away, the box of two candies slung over his shoulder with a string.

"What was that all about? You guys were in there for over an hour!" Renji suddenly interrupted the older man's revere.

Kisuke pulled his hat down, shielding his eyes. "You should be nicer to Kon," he informed.

"Why? He's annoying as hell," Renji complained.

"No," he corrected, turning to re-enter the shop. "You are annoying as hell, but than you for watching the shop. You may leave now if you like." He didn't wait for a response before going and turning on the radio and taking up a seat behind the counter where he started that week's books.


	30. Compliments

Things are gunna get mushy for a bit after this so here's a little angsty number to balance things out.

* * *

The most lasting side effect of Kon's time with the former captain was that now he was thinking about how his 'roommate' would treat him when he got home. About two-thirds of the way back he stopped, feeling very foolish for having gotten the chocolates in the first place. "There's no way that Ichigo's gunna want these. This was a stupid idea," he grumbled, sitting on the box. Then something occurred to him, "There's no way he's gunna be able to find something better." He'd come to know that Ichigo was the kind of person who, if he saw something that would make a good gift for someone, he simply bought it, if he could, and gave it to them. This made him absolutely terrible at occasion gifts. "Keh, but he won't appreciate it even if he does decide to give it to Shinji. Maybe I should give it to 'em," he joked to himself.

After a few more minutes of thinking, he decided to continue carrying them the rest of the way. With any luck, Ichigo would still be out shopping and he could hide them. That way, he could watch the young man agonize over it for the next couple of days. Then, when he still had nothing, he could offer them at the last second. That was sure to earn at least a thank-you, right?

Kon's luck seemed to be as good as Ichigo's was bad. With the gift safely stashed away where only the mod soul could get to it, he watched as the teen came home and threw himself onto the bed with a exasperated sigh.

"Didn't find anything, did ya?" Kon asked knowingly from the safety of under the bed.

"Shut up," Ichigo advised sternly.

"You could get'em some pretty undies. I bed he'd really like that," the mod soul teasingly advised.

"I told you to shut up."

"Something soft. Since the carpet matches the drapes, I bet he'd look real good in a nice delicate pink." He would have continued but there was a hand blindly reached for him and he felt the urge to dodge instead of taunt. When it relented for a moment he couldn't help continue teasing, "Not like you. With that orange mop of yours, pink is the last thing you need to be wearin'," he laughed but it almost got him caught.

Ichigo growled. He almost started shouting expletives but his family was home. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the plushy when it got a hold of it but it wasn't going to be very nice.

"Ha ha! Now there's an idea. You could wear something sexy for him!" Just as Kon made that suggestion, he was caught by the foot and dragged out. As soon as he saw the nearly homicidal look in the teen's eyes, he knew that he was pretty much done for so he couldn't help getting in a few more words of advice. "I could go pick'em out for ya. I have way better taste in that department anyway."

Ichigo brought his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, even giving a sigh to emphasize his exasperation. "Why won't you let this go?" he finally asked.

"'Cause I'm bored," he lied.

"I have a headache. Could ya lay off," he looked at the clock, "until after dinner?" he tried to bargain. "Then you can pester me all you want."

"First of all, I am not trying to pester you. And second, you always disappear with Rukia after dinner."

Ichigo's frown deepened. "What's it gunna take to get you to leave me alone?"

Kon blinked stupidly for a moment.

"What's that look for?"

"What's it gunna take?" he repeated incredulously. "Come on, usually I'm under a pile of dirty clothes or flying down the hall at this point."

"Is that what you want?" Ichigo asked threateningly.

"How 'bout you start by either putting me down or holding me right-side-up?" the mod soul indignantly suggested and, to his surprise, he was tossed into the air and caught right-side-up.

"Now what?" Ichigo asked without really thinking. He had been thinking all day and this was a nice diversion.

"How 'bout…" he hesitated but said it anyway, "you let me have some fun with your body before I have to be all responsible for you."

Ichigo laughed at the notion. "And just what kinda fun are we talkin' about? Nothing good I'm sure! You just wanna go look for some cute girls to badger." He accused playfully.

"Why don't you let me show you?" He very badly wanted to try out the new foot-massage technique he learned.

"Ha ha, I don't think so."

"I'll just have to have my fun later then. I'm sure your dad can keep an eye on your sisters while I'm out."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. He disliked it when treats like that were made, even if they were idle.

"Ugh. You know I'll stay here," he went limp in the young man's grasp. "Just put me back under the bed and I'll leave you alone." When Ichigo was like this, he just wasn't any fun.

The orange-haired teen gave the stuffed animal in his grasp a skeptical look. "You are _so_ strange," he offered as a concession before surrendering his human form.

Kon could hardly believe his eyes when he realized what had been done. The question Why? was on the tip of his tongue but he thought better of asking it.

"Just until Karin calls for dinner, okay?" Ichigo pointed authoritatively at the other form of himself still seated, with a somewhat dumbfounded look, on the edge of his bed.

The mod soul gave a silly smile before licking his lips.

"What?" Ichigo asked, suddenly unsure about his impulsive decision.

Kon pursed his lips and avoided eye contact. "Now that I'm here. I'm not sure what I wanna do…" he dawdled.

The soul reaper gave a look of mild disbelief.

"Why don't we just talk for a bit?"

"You want to talk?" the mildness of the look was gone.

Kon shrugged. Sure, he _wanted_ to do other things but he could settle for this. "Sure. Why? _You_ got somethin' in mind?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Besides, you talk to me like I'm a person when I look like you."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Did you know that Urahara was actually going to kill me that day?" he asked, revealing that he too had been preoccupied by something throughout the day as well.

"What day?" Ichigo cocked an eyebrow, there had been a lot of days.

"That first day. The day you saved my life," he elaborated.

Ichigo frowned.

"Why _did_ you save me?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"You could've given me back and gotten a modified soul that wasn't defective," he pointed out.

"I couldn't just let'em destroy you, even if you are a pain in the ass. And you were just freakin' out 'cause it was the first time you were out in a long time, right?" Ichigo attempted to reason.

Kon gave him a sheepish look even though he was really offended by being called a pain. "Right…" He wasn't sure if he was satisfied or not and it showed in the furrow of his brow and the slight curl of his lips.

"What?" Ichigo felt scrutinized by the unusual expression.

"Don't worry about it," he attempted to dismiss.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to appear unsure but he didn't say anything until Kon's expression changed to a mischievous grin. "Don't smile like that. It's weird," he complained. It wasn't as bad as seeing the hollow use his features but it was still unnerving.

"You really should get him a pair of underwear," he persisted because the heavy conversation had become too burdensome to him.

"You are unbelievable," Ichigo complained as he retook his body. He didn't bother putting him back into the lion, instead setting him on the desk and leaving him there until after dinner and Rukia showed up to whisk him away for another lovely evening of slaying hollows.

* * *

He returned shortly after two and as soon as Kon opened his mouth to speak, he knew it was another stupid taunt so he didn't waste any time in taking back his body so that he could go to bed.

However, as soon as he did, he noticed that something was amiss. His pants felt a little strange. He wasn't going to think anything of it, as there were times when blue jeans did feel a little strange after running around in soul reaper robes, until he took a couple of steps and he could tell it wasn't his pants that felt strange; it was his underwear.

Kon watched in nearly silent delight from one of his safe places, where he had promptly hid once put back into his plushy. Only his slightest giggling gave him a way.

"Damn it, Kon!" Ichigo grumbled, pulling the waist of his pants and boxers out an inch or so and taking a reluctant peek downward. "Get out here, right now!" he demanded when his suspicions were confirmed, a look of disgust and annoyance overtaking his entire air.

He slowly peeked out at the obviously furious. He was going to leave well enough alone after having done so well at getting a rise out of the young man earlier but when the family decided to go to the mall that evening, he couldn't resist popping into the underwear department of one of the larger department stores. Even then, he only intended to pass through simply to amuse himself. It wasn't something that he didn't do anyway; the difference this time being that he wasn't trying to imagine the cute clerks modeling the merchandise. This time, he was trying to imagine what he would look like in some of the items. One thing led to another and he was spending some of the teen's cash on a pair of women's panties (which he promptly took to the bathroom to put on, mostly so he wouldn't have to worry about carrying them around). But none of this would help him now.

"I said, RIGHT NOW!" Ichigo grit his teeth to keep his voice down.

The mod soul slowly crept out from his hiding spot. The teen wasn't even in the mood to chase him down, that usually wasn't good. "Look, Ichigo…I was just-"

"No talking. You are going to change me into my pajamas and then give me my body back so I can go to bed," he informed rather curtly before putting the mod soul back into his body. He sat on the edge of the bed and eyed his body carefully.

Kon shifted uncomfortably but when he parted his lips to speak he was cut off again.

"Shh." Ichigo held out a finger. "I am _too tired_ to deal with this right now. Just change quickly and quietly and I will let this go." His tone left no room for argument.

Kon frowned even though a significant portion of him as relieved. After a meek nod, he pulled his shirt up over his head. This time, he even took the extra two seconds to put it in the hamper. When he had the button and fly undone and was about to pull his pants down, he noticed that Ichigo was still watching him very carefully. "Are you just gunna sit there and watch me like that?" he fidgeted a little as he spoke in a quiet voice.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned away a little. "Since when do you have a sense of modesty?" he scoffed. He wanted to keep an eye on the mod soul, as he apparently couldn't be trusted but with the way his hollow was carrying on, he thought it best to avert his gaze.

The mod soul grumbled something similar to a thank-you before sliding out his favorite pair of the young man's jeans.

"Why do you have to be such a perv?" Ichigo grumbled, mostly to himself.

"Why do you have to be such a prude?" Kon quietly countered while putting the pants in the hamper with the shirt.

The teen seated on the bed gave a growl of warning and glad that was all it took to keep the mod soul going.

He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of the young man's underwear. Wearing the pretty article beneath them had done something to him, made him partially erect. Either Ichigo had chosen to ignore that or he wasn't in his body long enough to notice. Either way, Kon felt the blush of embarrassment creeping across his cheeks and it was partially induced by the young soul reaper's aloofness toward him.

With a sigh of disappointment, though he wasn't sure if it was in himself, Ichigo, or their situation (perhaps some combination of the three), he slipped out of the boxers. As he stepped out of them, he caught a glimpse of himself in the full length mirror affixed to the closet door. He was willing to admit that he hadn't exactly chosen the most comfortable piece of lingerie but did make his package look huge, a trade he was willing to make. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Ichigo wasn't watching him anymore. Now he was spacing out, waiting for his body.

Seeing this as a good moment to take a few extra seconds for himself, he gave a quarter turn to check out his backside. It looked a little unusual with the thin strip of fabric tucked between his cheeks, emerging only to connect to only slightly thicker waist, but he liked what he saw enough to giggle.

The small bout of bubbling laughter pulled Ichigo from his daze, much to his irritation. This irritation grew even more when he saw why there was such ridiculous laughter. This was his first opportunity to actually look at the strange article of clothing that the mod soul had bought for him. It was a little black thong, no wonder he'd been so uncomfortable when he got his body back. It had a small pattern on the front piece but because it was dark, he couldn't tell what it was. "What is the matter with you?" he gave an exasperated sigh, hoping that interrupting the mod soul's obvious gawking would be enough to make him finish changing.

"I'm defective, remember?" he replied dryly, turning to see what sort of look that earned him.

"You actually like that thing," he motioned to the tiny bit of clothing that his body was still wearing, the member barely contained within now starting to poke out just a little, "don't you?" the distain in his voice was mixed with a sort of morbid amusement that disturbed both of them a little bit. He would never admit it but there was something enticing about how impractical the thong was, the way that the more excited the wearer was the more useless it became.

Kon blushed and turned away a little, in a rare moment of bashfulness.

"What kind of weirdo gets off just from wearin' girl's underwear?" he scoffed, his urge to pummel the occupant of his body momentarily sated by verbal abuse.

Kon's stomach sank at the demeaning comment and when he tried to speak, he found that his heart had jumped up into his throat, pushing down any sort of words he might have had. He ended up simply give a hurt expression and started to remove the panties.

"Don't gimme that look," Ichigo grumbled, as that particular look annoyed him as much as it made him feel like an ass, which was also very annoying.

Kon tried to force a change of expression and finding that he couldn't, he turned away again to hide his face. Well, he wasn't just trying to hide his face because he found that the more the teen stared at him, the more scrutiny he felt, he harder he became.

Kon's demeanor gave Ichigo mixed feelings. On the one hand, there really hadn't been any real harm done. On the other, this was a little messed up for him to be dealing with at such a small hour of the night. The mod soul looked truly dejected, especially after that last exchange. It made him want to apologize but at the same time, he didn't want to give anything that might be considered encouragement, for fear something like this might happen again.

The sight of Kon hooking his thumbs in the waist of the panties gave him an idea. He might be able to make the mod soul feel a little better while still remaining steady in his position. "Hold it right there," he nearly barked.

Kon's hands froze as though the soul reaper had control of them himself. He couldn't believe his ears.

"Turn back around," Ichigo slowly instructed and when Kon hesitated, he repeated himself with an even more authoritative tone, "I said, turn-"

"I heard you the first time," Kon snapped, whipping around to glare and revealing himself.

Ichigo almost frowned but he caught himself in time and turned it into a somewhat thoughtful pursing of his lips. "Couldn't you have at least gotten a bigger size? I mean just look at you. You look ridiculous!"

Kon gave an incredulous look. "You mean _you_ look ridiculous. This is your body, ya know," he countered. It was a pretty good comeback but his heart wasn't in it and he knew it so he tried to take the underwear off again.

Unsure if he was ready to let his room(and body)mate off the hook that easily, he grabbed him by the forearm, pulling him to the bed and pinning him here.

"Ah-Ichigo," Kon gasped. "What are you doing?"

"It's bad enough that I got Urahara and the vizards wantin' me for weird shit. I don't wanna deal with it at home," he informed in a dark voice.

"Well, _sorry_ for trying to have a little harmless fun," Kon retorted through gritted teeth. He was so hard now that he nearly ached with the urge to grind their bodies together.

"I don't keep you around to have fun. You owe me 'cause I saved your life remember?" he taunted.

Kon laughed at that. "My debt to you was paid _in full_ after about the third time I almost died because someone, or something, thought I was you."

"You're not careful enough," Ichigo countered.

"Tch, hardly," Kon tried to push the soul reaper off of him but to no avail. "I said _almost_ died. And I don't even have any of stupid powers like you do." That wasn't entirely true. Compared to a normal human, he was more than exceptional but he appeared to be a normal human when compared to Ichigo. "Now, let me up so I can go to bed," he ironically complained.

Ichigo looked down. He wasn't aroused, at least not enough to make it worth doing anything about it. Kon, on the other had was quite the opposite. With only partially concealed reluctance, he reached his free hand down and started to play with the erection that had finally pushed itself free of the majority of the constraining fabric, leaving it to only cover his balls, and not very well at that.

Kon wiggled and tried again to pull away, a series of quiet, but very frustrated, little noises all the argument he could manage.

"What's the matter? This is what you want, right?" Ichigo leaned down, using some of his body weight to pin his double.

The answer to that was both yes and no, a feeling that was clearly portrayed through the look in his eyes. His hips had already started their own movements to compliment those being delivered by the calloused hand massaging his length. "I want…" to his surprise Ichigo eased up so that he could finish his thought. He wanted to get off but, "I don't want," he corrected, "someone who doesn't want me." That comment stunned Ichigo enough for him to slip away.

"Well, I don't wanna have to deal with it by myself so let me help you," Ichigo reasoned.

"You're so selfish," Kon gave a half-hearted attempt at smothering the teen with one of his pillows. "You think I'm a pain? Try living with, no _for_, you. It ain't exactly a picnic."

Ichigo didn't like that at all and decided to shut him up the only way he knew how. He tore the panties off his body and stuffed them in his mouth just before going down on him.

"Damn it!" Kon removed the panties from his mouth and cursed, tangling his fingers in the messy orange hair in his lap and pulling, unwittingly using a fair majority of his strength and only the barest bit of self-control not to pull it out.

"What's the big idea?" Ichigo practically demanded. As far as he knew, receiving oral sex from the soul reaper was something of a fantasy of the mod soul's

"The only reason you can stand to touch me is because I look like you," he blurted out.

Ichigo glared. "That's not true." Actually, it sounded like something that could be true but he'd never considered it before.

The tone of the young man's voice practically confirmed it for him. "Yes. It is." Kon assured. "You're only doing this for you," he continued. "You hate me because you have to share your body with me, because I'm more sexual than you, and I don't want satisfaction from someone who not only treats me like shit, but tries to humiliate me because of what turns me on." He scrambled across the room and found a pair of pajama pants.

"Is that _really_ how you feel?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"That's how _you_ really feel. You don't care about my feelings remember?" he grumbled.

"That's _not_ how I feel," he defended, now feeling even more revealed than the mod soul had moments before.

"Ya got a funny way of showin' it," he scoffed as he pulled up the pants.

"What do you want from me?" the soul reaper groaned.

"Why even ask?" he countered; he never felt more cynical in his life and that was saying something.

"Look, I can't give you what you want unless I know what it is. I'm not a mind reader."

As far as Kon was concerned, you didn't have to be a mind reader to realize that he was fed up with the way he was treated and was acting out because of it. Even Kon knew that but he couldn't help the way he behaved. "The day that we walked around and you told me about your 'condition'," he began.

"You want me to tell you about my sex life?" Ichigo incredulously assumed.

"No, but you talked to me like I was a person and even though I was in this, " he threw the plush lion at the teen's face. "It was really nice." Kon gave a heavy sigh. "Okay, well, now that I've thoroughly humiliated myself, put me back and let me rest."

"That's it? We're done with…whatever this is?" now Ichigo felt more exasperated than anything and that made him want to call it a temper tantrum even though it was clearly more than that.

"Sure, whatever. Just do it already," he motioned to the doll. "I know how speaking to me for any length of time grates on you."

Ichigo was dumbfounded. Kon never ever spoke to him like that, especially with that kind of tone. Usually, the mod soul's arguments were superficial at best and certainly never that scathing. _Usually_, a grain of salt, or two, added to the comments made them bearable, if bothersome. Tonight he was unusually cutting in his remarks. "What's gotten into you?"

"Put. Me. Back. Right now," Kon instructed with an eerily even tone.

"Whatever you say…" Ichigo finally put the mod soul back into the lion's body. If he'd expected Kon to jump off him and make a run for the door, he could have caught him. Instead, he was simply glad that the door wasn't slammed on the way out.

Ichigo grumbled and tried to go to bed. He really hated feeling like an ass and he was quickly starting to regret behaving like one.

"You liked seeing him scamper around like that," the hollow inside him accused.

"Not now," he grumbled.

"Yer afraid you'd like it like he does. What other reason is there for you to get so weird like that?" it taunted. The hollow knew that there might be other reasons but it was the only reason he cared about.

This time Ichigo simply growled in response.

"Yer too hard on'em," the hollow pointed out, failing to also point out that he only cared because it was starting to make his sky cloud over. "He was just tryin' to break the tension. Made it real easy for ya too. All ya had to do was bend-em over and worry about keepin'em quiet enough while ya finished."

"How was I supposed to know he'd react that way?" he shot back mentally.

"After how he was carryin' on earlier, what else did you expect?" the hollow seethed. "He's right. You're selfish. It's one thing to be caught up with your little date with blondie but you don't gotta be a dick to everybody else!"

This went on for the better part of an hour and Ichigo should have known that his hollow was riled up enough that he should have just made some coffee and tried to distract himself with some make-up assignments but he was just too tired.

In the meantime, Kon retreated to the downstairs where he planned to sulk for a while before falling asleep on the couch. During this intense sulking session, he concluded that he should take the shopkeeper's offer more seriously. By the end, he'd all but decided to do it. The situation between them had become so volatile that neither of them really knew what to do with the other. This left Ichigo to do what he usually did, try to ignore it.

Fortunately, or otherwise, for the soul reaper and the mod soul there was a third part that did had a pretty good idea what to do about it.

"Kon?" it asked in the dark living room, using a whisper to disguise the timber of his voice.

"Nnngh?" the toy rolled over, away from the sound.

"Wake up, I wanna talk," it continued to whisper.

"I'm tired of talkin' to you, go away," he weakly tossed one of the throw pillows in the general direction of the voice.

"Please?" It snuck around the couch and peeked over the back.

The mod soul gave an indignant groan before opening his eyes and nearly fell off in surprise shortly after. "Y-You-" he stammered until he was caught just before hitting the ground.

"Shhh!" it soothed, quietly hopping onto the couch, laying down, and setting the stuffed lion on his stomach.

"_You_ wanna _talk_ to _me_?" Kon asked quietly. The last time he checked, talking wasn't exactly on the top of the list of things that Ichigo's hollow wanted to do with the mod soul. "Don't bother. I don't have anything to say to you…oh but when your King wakes up, tell'em that I've decided to move out." He informed bitterly, still partially stunned.

It rolled it's golden eyed, "He shouldn't'a tore'em up like that." It was something that he was actually very disappointed with and he knew that it was going to take some genuine emotion to win back the creature standing on him. "If it woulda helped, I'd'a tried to stop'em…but you know how he hates to listen…" the hollow trailed off, letting his eyes slide shut for a moment. There was something unusually pleasant about having the stuffed creature pacing and fidgeting on his torso.

That caused Kon to pause and when the thought occurred to him that he and the inner demon might have more in common than he cared to admit, he had to look away.

"They were _very_ nice," he complimented. "But I think they look better on you than they would on the King," he mused.

"That's stupid. I was using his body," Kon complained.

"Well he's got the body for it," he scooped up the stuffed lion, moving him closer to his chest, "But you," he only stopped himself from licking his lips by continuing, "Well, could you imagine how stupidly awkward he would be? You may get his looks but he certainly don't get your grace."

"What are you doing?" Kon asked suspiciously.

The hollow groaned. "I'm tryin' ta cheer ya up," it grumbled.

Even through the limited capacity of his plushy features, the disbelief could be clearly seen. "Okay, now really."

"I want ya to cut'em some slack," it admitted.

"I've given him enough slack to hang himself." It was Kon's turn to grumble and to his astonishment, it made the hollow laugh and hard enough to have to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"I know. I know." It conceded. "But…" It was obvious at this point that the hollow greatly disliked apologizing and making excuses for the young man. "He's just some human kid. He ain't like you an' me. He don' understand his own needs, let alone anybody else's…and with that damn blonde bastard practically streaking through his brain, he can't even think straight."

"That's why I should leave." Kon resolutely replied.

"No. It's exactly why you need to stay. He _relies_ on you," it nearly seethed.

"I'll still take care of things for him. I just don't wanna stay here with him anymore. In case you haven't noticed, it really sucks to be treated like crap."

Again, the hollow laughed, not as loudly this time, but it was still there and it seemed to create as much tension as it dissipated. "Believe me. I've noticed. But if you leave, things will only get more difficult for him to manage."

"I know…but…I just can't take it any more," he stomped but much of the effect was lost due to how soft his body happened to be.

Regardless of the intensity, it made the hollow frown just the same. He really wished he could get a better read on the thing standing on his borrowed torso. "It sounds like you really like'em, in spite'a how he treats ya."

"I don't know how much you know about people but, aside from the abuse, which is really only directed at me, he's a really likable guy," Kon slumped forward, feeling utterly defeated. "I love'em; I hate'em; what's it matter? I'm not actually a person, right? I stuffed lion can't have feelings, right? The only time he ever gives a damn about me is when I'm body-sitting for him." It was difficult to keep his voice down. "Damnit," he cursed under his breath.

The hollow's frown deepened. He thought it would be pretty easy to get the mod soul to cheer up a little bit, at least stop sulking quite so much; now he was being dragged into something else entirely. The unsettling feeling in his stomach told him that there was some truth to the mod soul's words.

"It's like he can't bring himself to care about me because of what I am…but he still treats Lirin and the others okay…" he was mumbling to himself at this point, almost totally uncaring as to whether the hollow listened.

"He don' share his body with any'a them," it pointed out.

"And we're back to that…" Kon wanted to bang his head on the wall, scream, do something, but all his did was fall backward, fully reclining on the body beneath him. "This is ridiculous. Just take him back to bed. I'm leaving." Kon tried to spring up and head for the door, as he had last time but the hollow was a much more suspicious creature than the teenager and easily caught him before they even broke contact. "Let me go!" he nearly yelled.

The hollow clasped his hand over the lion's mouth and ran back up to the bedroom as quickly and quietly as he could. "Shhh. If you leave, it'll only make things worse," it informed.

"Is that a threat?" the mod soul asked in disbelief.

"Not for you. Actually, you could probably be pretty happy if you found a place nearby." He felt it was his turn to sound bitter. "But if you leave then I'll get all his aggravation, all of it."

"Why should I care about what happens to you? For all I know, you deserve some extra punishment," he sniped as they landed on the bed.

"Ya really wanna watch'em destroy himself like that?" the hollow asked, somehow both incredulous and solemn.

"So you're threatening Ichigo now?"

"No, damn it. Even if he were still just a soul reaper, not a vizard, he'd still be self-destructive. He don' really need me for that but I just can't help myself. It's my nature."

"Then why are you telling me this? Why try to get me to stay? Sounds to me like you get a lot more attention after I leave."

"If he dies, so do I," he informed dryly.

Kon gave a sigh of resignation and stopped fighting the arms that had become wrapped around him during their last exchange. "This is unbelievable." Deep down, in his heart of hearts, he knew there would be ramifications if he left the teen to his own devices and to keep his decision an easy one, he tried not to think about them. For once, he wanted to be selfish but now that he was faced with them, he couldn't do it.

"If it makes ya feel any better…He may not always thing of you as a person but he does care about you and he certainly doesn't hate you."

"Coming from you that makes me feel _so_ good," the mod soul didn't bother disguising his sarcasm.

"He's just really threatened by you, that's all," it informed offhandedly.

"Ha ha, yeah, right!"

"No, I'm serious. Sexually speaking, especially. But again, I guess that's to be expected. He can't help that he's just a teenager."

The very idea made Kon laugh.

"And _especially_ after you spent the night with _his_ lover."

"What? That doesn't work. He still treats Kisuke the same."

"Well, he don' have any control of their relationship."

"He didn't have to let me stay. I might not've if I'd known it would make things worse than they were before all this weirdness started."

"He did the right thing and he knows it. Just give'em a little more time."

Seeing that the hollow, though oddly helpful, was very displeased with their conversation, Kon decided to leave it at that. He watched as the hollow allowed the body he was controlling to drift back to sleep before finding his nest under the bed and doing the same. As he too drifted off, he re-decided. He would wait to see how Ichigo was after his first date with the blonde vizard before considering the shopkeeper's offer further.


	31. Romancing

ha ha.. okay, so my laptop had a minor stroke when i was almost finished with this (so i had to rewrite it) and then i had this really weird dream that i had to write about before it would leave me alone so yeah, anyway, here it is...

* * *

Ichigo tossed his damp towel over the back of his desk chair with a slight sigh. He had butterflies in his stomach but they were soon pushed aside when he saw a small box sitting on his desk. Upon lifting the box for further examination, he found a piece of paper with scrawlings on it.

I know you suck at gift shopping  
and he deserves something nice.

He carefully lifted the lid to find two chocolates inside. "Kon?" he called carefully. He knew the mod soul was in his room so there was really no need to shout for him but, alas, no answer. "Hey," he ducked down to look under the bed. Still nothing. "Was this you?" He looked around again before sliding open his closet door. Thank god Rukia wasn't staying there anymore. "Come on out," he continued to coax.

With marked reluctance, Kon let the teen's persistence get to him and he poked his head out from between a couple shirts. "What to you want?" he asked impatiently as if he didn't know.

Ichigo held the box and note up so that it was eye-level with the stuffed lion. "Was this you?" he asked knowingly. Kon's handwriting was bad anyway but trying to write with plush hands was next to impossible.

"What if it was?" he tried to roll his eyes but to little effect.

"Thanks," he replied sheepishly. "It's perfect."

Kon blinked stupidly for a moment. "You-You're welcome," he managed as he tried to squirm out from between the clothes and their hangers.

"Here, let me help you," Ichigo reached out and carefully plucked the plushy from his closet.

"Put me down!" he practically screamed as he thrashed about until he was released.

"Look, Kon," Ichigo sat down on the floor, as that was where the loin had landed. He'd been dying for an opportunity to apologize but had either been interrupted or chickened out until now.

"You'd better get goin'," he could see the sorry look in the chocolate eyes peering down at him. He already knew Ichigo felt bad about how he behaved; he had made sure of that. "I doubt he wants to meet your dad."

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo stopped, his apology once again quelled. "Thanks."

* * *

Shinji grumbled to himself as he sat down on one of the many benches in the park near the Kurosaki clinic. He cursed himself for not thinking about having to pick up the young man at his house. At six in the evening, Ishin would surely be home with his family and there was no way he would approve of their relationship.

Of course, that notion made him wonder. It was _possible_ perhaps even probable that the former captain already knew. From talking to Kisuke, he learned that their former comrade knew very well about his son's more spiritual activates and from the very beginning. Being the kind of man and father he was, he knew there was no way he could keep Ichigo from being a soul reaper and doing all the strange and dangerous things that went with it. He realized that even if he did say something to his son about it, tried to talk him out of it, it would only push them apart and make it more difficult to protect the girls. No, he seemed rather content to be the obnoxious father to the orange-haired teen and his two sister. He often admired the, at times, painfully lighthearted man for his ability to maintain his _lazze faire_ approach, not counting the constant attacks on his son.

Because Ishin was one of the few individuals to leave the soul society and have a largely normal life in the living world, it had been a while since they last spoke and it didn't really seem right for their first conversation after years of silence to be about how he was nailing the other former captain's son, whether the father already knew or not.

Knowing or not, he still didn't want to knock on their front door and say, "Good evening, Mr. Kurosaki. I'm here to pick up your son but don't you worry, I'll have him home by eleven, or is ten better for you?" Shinji found himself laughing aloud at the audacity of the situation because unless Ishin wanted to blow his cover of ignorance, he would almost have to play along, at least to some degree even if it was just throwing him out. These thoughts were interrupted by a voice that was suddenly behind him.

"What's so funny?"

The blonde started and turned around to see his favorite cocky smile. "Hey," was all he could manage in his surprise. Then, he checked his watch. "It's only five," he commented.

"I know, I noticed you're early and I didn't wanna put you through meeting my family." Ichigo hopped over the back of the bench to take a seat next to his friend. "And you looked a little crazy laughin' to yourself like that so I thought I'd join you."

Shinji tried not to blush. "Thanks…" he barely said as he considered the irony of the teen's actions as well as the fact that he noticed he was nearby

"So…what's the plan?" Ichigo couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Oh, I thought we could troll for some chicks and see if we can get lucky, ya know?" he offered with the utmost seriousness and even a little bit of hopefulness.

"Wh-What?" Ichigo frowned.

"Well, ya know, we're not total fags, right?" he continued, still able to maintain his deadpan delivery but when the teen simply blinked stupidly in response he cracked and started laughing again.

The younger vizard rolled his eyes, "You jerk," he playfully hit his, what he had come to consider, boyfriend in the arm. "You really had me going!"

Shinji continued to giggle for a moment, "You should have seen your face," he said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

The next thing Ichigo knew, they were traveling at shun-po speeds skyward and out of town. Occasionally, Shinji would point out a interesting group of people or piece of scenery but Ichigo couldn't bring himself to pay much attention to those sites. The one just in front of him would do just fine.

After the second time he said something to his younger companion that should have provoked some sort of response and received none, he took a look back. He smiled when he saw that Ichigo was still paying attention to him, he just wasn't listening. With that in mind, he decided to show off a little; he would have time to display his wit later.

As Ichigo watched the lithe blonde flit and flip through the air in front of him, a warm feeling began to well up within him. He wasn't surprised to find that the feeling was a deep seeded affection, as much physical as it was emotional. A couple of days ago it would have taken him off guard but since he had time to think about their date, he'd started to consider Shinji to be his boyfriend. It made him smile and before long, he was flirtatiously flitting about as well. It quickly turned into something of a game and since Shinji was leading Ichigo got to chase him, something they both very much enjoyed. Shinji even found himself giggling with foolish delight, music to Ichigo's ears.

"You'll never catch me," the blonde teased, blowing a little kiss in the direction of his affection.

Ichigo knew it wasn't about catching him but played along anyway. "Oh yeah?"

"If you do, we won't get where we're going," he advised.

"Where are we going anyway?"

Shinji was surprise that it took him this long to ask. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Ichigo suddenly sounded less sure. The last time he got a surprise, Shinji was bound, nude, and covered with food.

"Nothing special, just a little out of the way place," he replied, winning back the orange-haired teen's grin again.

Ichigo breathed a small sigh of relief. He had been a little disappointed with himself when he realized that he wasn't quite ready to show their relationship off in front of anyone he didn't have to. He imagined himself blushing, stammering furiously, and making excuses if someone from his school saw them behaving intimately with one another. The last thing he needed was someone like Keigo opening his big fat mouth wide enough for both their feet to fit in. This had him making a mental note to thank his companion in some way for the consideration, as it was doubtfully an coincidence.

Before anymore questions could be raised, Shinji started their descent. When their feet were reunited with solid ground again, they were standing on the western beach closest to his home, which wasn't really all that close. He only recognized it because his father had taken them their on vacation once before his mother died. He tried to hide the stupid grin that crept across his lips when he realized that this would be the perfect place to make a few more happy memories.

They took a moment to remove their shoes and socks and roll up their pants so that they could walk along the beach.

"What's that look for?" Shinji asked after they started walking.

Ichigo laughed at him a little at himself. "I was just tryin' to figure out…when I started to fall for you."

Shinji gave a sheepish little smirk but didn't offer any suggestions.

"You don't have anything to say about that?" Ichigo sounded genuinely surprised.

"Well, you see…" Shinji paused and forced his blush down. "I was kinda busy…" he trailed off.

"With?" Ichigo cocked an eyebrow.

"With keeping my falling for you in check," he admitted.

The younger vizard's eyes grew wide with shock. "R-Really?"

"Yeah, sure," he shrugged, still reluctant.

"Wait. How l-" was as far as he got before Shinji grabbed his hand and gave him a quick kiss.

"We're here," he led them up to a little restaurant with a deck connected to the beach.

Ichigo gave up on that for the moment while he was being practically dragged up to the restaurant where they were greeted by one of the wait staff and seated on the deck. Only after they got their drinks and ordered did he manage to ask. "Er-Shinji," he began.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"How long have you liked me?" he had to know.

"Oh, you don't care about stuff like that. What matters is that we're here now, right?" he offered a toast to that.

Ichigo drank to that but he couldn't stop himself from frowning a little at the evasiveness.

Shinji gave a sound of mild irritation. "You dislike when I roll my eyes; I dislike that disapproving frown of yours," he informed.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo readily apologized.

"It's fine. I shouldn't have snapped like that…but Ichigo, I've been attracted to you since the first time I saw you, and had a crush on you since we first met," he admitted.

The younger vizard's jaw nearly hit the floor. "No…Really?" He wasn't expecting something that early since his own attraction had only developed recently. "Why didn't you say anything?"

The older gave a look of incredulity at that question. "It was just a crush at the time," he shrugged. "Don't look so surprised."

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting-"

"I know. That's why I didn't want to say anything." When he saw that made the young man seated across from him uncomfortable, he continued with a more light hearted tone. "It was all your fault really."

That made Ichigo laugh. "Yeah? How's that?"

"Oh you were so forward. The first thing you did when you saw me at your school was drag me out back and pin me against the wall. There was such a fire in your eyes I almost kissed you."

Ichigo was speechless long enough that the server came with their food in the meantime. Shinji just laughed a little. He thought that his younger companion's surprise would be disheartening but it was actually quite amusing.

"Now I feel like I have to make up for los t time," Ichigo finally joked after the first couple of bites.

"You are so intense that you've made up for quickly; I think you've even taken a few years off the end of my life," Shinji continued to tease.

"Don't say things like that," Ichigo dismissed, more than a little embarrassed by the insinuation.

"You're the one who asked about it. So, have you figured out when you started to like me?"

"I gave up," he shrugged, having pretty much decided that it started the first time Shinji called them nakama.

Shinji didn't believe that because Ichigo was not the giving up type but he let it go anyway.

* * *

The rest of the meal and the desert that followed was less tense and when they paid and left together, back to the beach, Shinji turned to his companion. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're enjoying yourself," he teased. "I don't think I've seen you frown more than a dozen times."

"It's your fault." Ichigo gave the man a playful push toward the water and then caught him before he had a chance to fall in.

They walked until the sun started to set. Then, they sat down a few meters from the shore.

When Ichigo felt the warm affection welling up in him again he had to say something. "Shinji, this is really romantic," he commented.

The blonde pursed his lips. "Is that okay?" Much of his dilemma was in determining just how much romance to allow.

"Yeah, it's great. I'm just a little surprised. I didn't think you had it in you," he teased.

"What were you expecting?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. He was trying not to expect anything…and he'd been distracted by Kon and his stupid idea to get a present.

Shinji appeared a little disappointed by that.

Ichigo laughed a little. "I spent most my time looking for something."

"Did you lose something?" Shinji played along.

"I don't know about that but…here," he pulled the box from his pocket and set it in his companion's lap.

"What's this?" he picked it up with exaggerated gingerness.

"You're not gunna break it," Ichigo informed, inexplicably irked by how careful the man was being.

Shinji ignored his tone and opened the box. He gave an impish grin as he pulled the candies out but when he tried to hand one to Ichigo, it was refused.

"It's for you," he urged.

The blonde gave a playful frown. "It's for sharing," he corrected, took a bite, and popped the rest into Ichigo's mouth when he parted his lips to speak. He did the same with the other chocolate and giggled at having gotten away with the same trick twice in a row. Once the sun was set but while it still lit up the sky he turned to Ichigo and stole a kiss.

The orange-haired vizard had been considering something similar so he wasn't surprised when it happened. He did seem to take Shinji off guard a little bit when he was quick to deepen the kiss and pull them into a rather protective embrace. The slimmer of the two gave a little moan in spite of himself when their tongues met. He had been trying to hold back such vocal affections; being held like that made him too eager and he knew that but the evening had been so sweet he didn't want to ruin it.

That burden was quickly removed from him because the small sound made Ichigo give a sound of his own, only his was more like a growl, and hold him even tighter. The sweetness was all but gone, leaving them with something just as real but much less wholesome. When the kiss broke for a moment, as they often do, Shinji gave a reflective sort of chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo slipped his hand beneath the fairer vizard's shirt and gave his ribs a quick tickle.

"Back when we first met, I _never _thought it'd be like this," he mused with a grin.

Neither did Ichigo so he simply resumed the kiss but when it broke again, he was the first to speak. "Um, Shinji, can I…" he trailed off for a moment, unsure how to phrase his question.

With the way that the teen had just been kissing him Shinji wasn't expecting what came next.

"Can I call you my boyfriend?" he asked rather sheepishly. He had been thinking it for some time now but he wanted to make sure that was okay before he let it slip.

"Look, Ichigo-" he had been hoping that introducing the romantic element into their relationship wouldn't confuse the young man, though he practically melted at the idea.

He was quick to interrupt anything that wasn't a yes or no answer. "I realize that as far as sex goes at least you'll have to see other people but can't we be like…romantically exclusive or something?"

Shinji almost slapped himself for seconding guessing his orange-haired companion. Instead, he practically leapt on him knocking him to the ground. As far as he was concerned, they already were. "You had me at 'can I'," he informed with a husky voice before laying down on top of his boyfriend of newly official status.

Before either of them realized it, they were kissing again and Ichigo had rolled them over so that he was pressing the older vizard into the sand. He hadn't intended to be so bold. Normally, he enjoyed simply matching Shinji's advances (unless he was in need). However, after hearing the details of the blonde's admission about the length of his attraction, he felt a certain drive to be a little more aggressive, more forward as it were. It worked and better than he expected and he smiled into their kiss when Shinji's arms wrapped more tightly around him. He even felt he man's legs spread and start to wrap around him a little.

It wasn't long after that Shinji broke their groping kiss again. The heat of the body above him was bad enough but with how aggressive Ichigo was being, he almost couldn't think. "So what would you have done if I had kissed you that day?" he wondered aloud so that he could have another few seconds to catch his breath.

That was actually something he'd been trying not to think about because he had a pretty good idea what his response would have been at the time. A strange, forward, obviously overpowered asshole comes to his school, bothers his friends, and tries to solicit him into some weird rogue group and then steals a kiss from him? There was only one response for that. "I'd'a kicked the shit outta ya," he practically growled, even turned away a little while he tried not to frown.

Fortunately, that answer made Shinji laugh. "I know," he gave a little wink that he knew could been seen out of the corner of the teen's eye.

The response of the man beneath him made Ichigo turn back, more than a little surprised at how lightly he was taking the rather violent answer. "Is that why you didn't?"

Shinji laughed again. "I didn't kiss ya 'cause then ya never would've come to us. The ass-kicking woulda been totally worth it." He gave a cheeky grin when the young man on top of him blushed. "Hell, I mighta even got in a few good gropes during the fight," he added, reaching down to playfully grab his boyfriend's ass.

"You wouldn't dare!" Ichigo nearly gasped at the idea of being molested like that.

Shinji laughed at him and rolled them over so that he could be on top. "Bet your sweet ass I would! I thought I told you, I don't hold back unless you make me," he replied with a haughty grin and tried for another kiss but was evaded, much to his dismay. It appeared he'd said too much.

Ichigo took Shinji's hand's into his own and rolled them back over. "Actually…I wanted to talk to you about that. I thought it could wait, but now that you've brought it up." He felt the blond shift nervously beneath him.

"What's that?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"You keep saying that you don't hold back unless I want you to but I don't once remember asking you to," he complained.

Shinji started with the easiest answer, "What about that day I followed you to school?"

"That's different."

The man laying in the sand closed his eyes to think of a better response.

"Well?"

"It's complicated. Gimme a minute," he dismissed.

"Ah-ha! So you admit it," Ichigo gloated.

Shinji pursed his lips. "If I just agree with you, will you let it go?"

That made Ichigo frown. His lover was not usually such a defeatist. "Not if you don't really mean it," he answered, still sounding argumentative.

"I just wanna make sure I have this straight," Shinji began after a minute. "You think that I hold back, I assume sexually, when we're together."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Is this going back to our episodes being um…different?" he vaguely referred to his comments that Ichigo didn't fully understand because of his humanity.

Ichigo's nose wrinkled for a moment and then he conceded, "Kinda, I guess. Just answer me…please?"

Shinji eyed his boyfriend for a long, careful moment. "No. This is about what you saw at Kisuke's that night, isn't it?" he guessed again.

The orange-haired teen faltered slightly at that because he thought he had all but shrugged off that incident, focusing instead on the usefulness of the information the other vizards had given him. This moment of inattentiveness caused him to lose his physical advantage and he quickly found himself on his back once again.

"Ichigo," Shinji gave a gentle smile downward. "One day you will understand that you can have certain kinds of relationships with some people and other kinds of relationships with other people. If we happen to know one another a hundred years from now, we may find ourselves in a similar position to the one that you found me and Kisuke in."

Ichigo gave an impatient grumble.

"Think about it like this. I've never taken Kisuke out on a date," Shinji informed flatly.

Ichigo liked that answer a lot and without even thinking, he pulled the older man's face toward his own so they could start kissing again.

When the sky was dark and the sand turned cold, they finally dusted themselves off and headed back to town. They were quick and quiet during this time, simply enjoying the feeling other the other's presence.

They stood across the street from the clinic for a long moment before either of them broke the warm silence.

"I'm glad we got to do this," Shinji smiled. "I get the feeling we won't get the opportunity to again before either of us has another episode."

Ichigo gave a childish grin. "Does that mean…?"

Shinji gave a sly grin in response. "I think we've waited long enough."

A quick good-night kiss later and Ichigo was back in his room trying not to get the remaining sand that clung to his hair and clothes all over everything. It was almost eleven and he breathed a sigh of relieve when he realized that everyone was asleep.

Shinji smiled to himself as he watched from across the street for Ichigo's bedroom light to come on. Once it did, he gave a contented sigh and turned to leave. He was halfway through his second step when a voice called to him.

"Hakaro-san," the voice of a stern man called to him from the shadows across the street.

The blonde froze. He wanted to bolt but he knew the voice and it made his heart stop.

"We need to talk."


	32. Busted

Haha! Another fluffy shorty-short chapter before things get all smexy again!

* * *

Shinji was frozen long enough for the man to join him across the street. "K-Kurosaki-san," he barely greeted.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested for fear his son would look out his window and see the two men together. Once they were at the end of the block, he began, "Did you have a good time tonight?"

Shinji gave a look of disbelief, knowing that there wasn't a good answer to that kind of question. "Yeah, I guess," he carefully replied.

"Look, I've lived just as many lifetimes as you have; so, I realize that this one of those things that I can't do anything about without making it worse." The look of surprise he received bade him to continue. "But as a father, I have to ask. What is your relationship with my son?" He stopped and looked into the blonde's eyes.

Shinji obviously didn't want to answer. After having spending a portion of his evening discussing just how complicated their relationship was, he knew he couldn't sum it up in a single thought.

Ishin had been ready for just about anything to come out of the blonde's mouth at that point but when that anything was in fact nothing, he frowned deeply and started to back the smaller man toward the street. "It's a simple question." He still only received a reluctant look. "Are you fucking my boy or not?" he finally demanded, his tone eerily even.

His breath caught at the frankness of the question before he choked out a feeble, "Yes, we're-yeah," while he was preparing to be beaten to a bloody pulp. So, he was astonished when the man withdrew a little, slouching as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why did it have to be you of all people?" Ishin grumbled, mostly to himself.

"It's mostly because of the episodes," Shinji defended, just happy that he was no longer in danger of being pushed into the street.

"That's not a consolation. He's my son, damn it!" Though, he knew that if anyone had the guts to become involved with son, it was this man.

"It's not about the sex," he tried again.

Ishin rolled his eyes and gave another sigh of exasperation.

"Do you want me to stop seeing him?" Shinji reluctantly offered and it received an incredulously look.

"You'd give him up that easily?" On the one hand he liked the idea, on the other, he disliked that the other former captain would disregard Ichigo like that.

"I'd really rather not," and that was all he was going to say about that unless he received further prompting. "But I can see how much it bothers you. I shouldn't get in the way of a whole family like that."

Ishin shook his head. "I'd love to take you up on that but…Ichigo wouldn't stand for it. For whatever reason he has a fancy for you, to take that away from him-he doesn't deserve any more disappointment with life than he already has."

Shinji was speechless.

"So," he backed the blonde toward the edge of the sidewalk once again and just in time for them to hear a truck coming. "I'll just say this instead. If you hurt him, I'll brake that pretty face of yours and you'll be lucky if I stop there. Got it?" He leaned forward.

The smaller man gave a nervous nod of agreement and slipped away before the truck got too much closer. He didn't want to take any chances.

Ishin didn't try to stop him because he knew that if the other man felt a need to distance himself, then his threats were effective.

"Yeah, got it," Shinji hastily agreed and his former comrade nodded in approval. "Why wait until now to say something?"

"Usually he comes back by himself. I knew it was time to step in when you actually brought him home." Though seeing them kiss was almost more than he could bear. "And he actually told his sisters he had a date tonight," he grumbled.

"Does this mean we don't have to sneak around anymore?" Shinji asked hopefully.

"Do whatever," Ishin gave a dismissive motion. "I get the sneaking suspicion that I'll dislike having you around just as much as the sneaking about." At that, he turned back to walk home.

"That's it?"

"Try to get'em home a little ealier, would ya?"

* * *

Shinji knew he'd cursed himself by musing so lightly about the young man's father before their date. Though, it went a lot better than even he hoped. The threat was to be expected but that didn't make it any less scary because he knew all too well that it wasn't an empty threat.

It also left him with a nagging feeling that maybe the shouldn't sneak around so much. He realized it was because he wanted to prove to the young vizard's father that he actually gave a damn about his son. However, other than that, he was content to let things be.

Ishin was another story. As far as he was concerned, he still had something of a problem on his hands. That's why when the opportunity presented itself in the form of Shinji following Ichigo home from school one day, he happened to be there waiting for them. He figured that Ichigo had to hide enough of his life.

Shinji was about two seconds from stealing a good-bye kiss and running off when Ishin happened to take out the garbage. "Good afternoon," he obnoxiously greeted and reveled in the fact that both of them nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Oh, hi Dad," Ichigo greeted, as friendly as he could because he didn't want Shinji to see him so easily lose his temper with his father. "You're home early," he commented.

"Yeah, the hospital just got a new rush of interns; the place is way too overstaffed to get anything done so I took the afternoon off." Most of that was true.

Shinji shifted nervously during this exchange, caught between his fight and flight instincts.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Ishin asked once his task was complete.

"Uh-er, sure," the teen stammered. "Dad, this is Hakaro Shinji. We-uh-go to school together."

"I can see that. Why else would he wear your school's uniform?" Ishin laughed, lightening the situation considerably.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san," he gave a slight bow, feeling very foolish about the whole gesture but Ishin's performance was so flawless that he felt he had to at least try.

"You boys comin' in?" the father opened the door for them. His son entered first, giving him the opportunity to make a scary face at the blonde boyfriend. He was glad he did because the two 'young men' quickly made their way up to Ichigo's bedroom.

* * *

"I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know my dad would be home," Ichigo apologized, glad that his father hadn't behaved too strangely for once.

"Don't worry about it," Shinji managed. "It was bound to happen sometime, right?"

"Yeah. I guess. At least he didn't come at me with a flying kick or something," Ichigo shrugged as he took a seat on the edge of his bed.

They sat and talked for the better part of the afternoon and because it was in Shinji's nature to flirt, he quickly found himself faced with a certain kind of subject matter.

"Can you tell which one of us is gunna go first?" Ichigo asked in reference to their episodes.

He shrugged. "It's hard to say. You haven't had enough to know when they're gunna happen."

"Can they happen at the same time?" the younger vizard continued to press.

"It's possible, or one might trigger the other," he offered.

"That would be crazy."

"Yes, it usually is." He wanted to keep his answers short for fear someone might be listening to them.

"What do you want to do when it happens?"

"What's with all the questions?"

"I dunno. I guess I'm excited, that's all," Ichigo defended, taking his boyfriend by the hand and pulling him from his desk chair to his lap. "Is that so bad?"

"Your dad's home, maybe we should cool it a little, huh?" he tried, sitting next to his lover instead of in his lap.

"He's downstairs," Ichigo dismissed, leaning in for a quick kiss. "As long as you don't make too much noise he won't bother us."

"Didn't you just say that he's prone to randomly attacking you?" Shinji reminded hastily.

"Come on," Ichigo pulled him closer. "It's not like you can't just practically disappear if he opens the door, right?"

Shinji swallowed hard, something that Ichigo undoubtedly noticed since now he was nibbling on the side of his neck. "Maybe I shouldn't just disappear, let your father catch us like this. Then what?"

"Since when are you so prudent?" Ichigo looked up and all he could see was the blush decorating his boyfriend's cheeks. "Hehe, okay. I see how it is," he simply assumed the other vizard was playing hard to get and pushed him down onto the mattress, making sure to lean over him so he couldn't slip away.

"But, Ichigo-" he protested, as hushed as he could.

"If you raise your voice too much, someone will hear," the teen scolded and stole another kiss.

Any other time this would have been amazing but Shinji found himself wrestling with how to diffuse their situation without hurting any feelings. It was just his luck that when their lips met, there was a knock on the door followed by someone entering even though the knock had not been acknowledged.

It was Ishin. "Hey, Ichigo, Yuzu wants to know-" he stopped. He tried to appear more startled than he really was by their rather compromising position. More than anything, he found himself annoyed that Ichigo was obviously the instigator of the situation. "Never mind." He quickly exited, leaving the door open behind him, which allowed them to hear what he said next. "Yeah, Ichigo's friend is staying for dinner!" he called down to his daughter.

"Fuck," Shinji signed, letting his head fall back to the soft padding below.

As for Ichigo, he was nearly sitting in the chair he'd pulled Shinji from.

That was when Kon made his entrance. He came rolling out from underneath the bed laughing hysterically at them. "Busted!"

They both grumbled.

"Ha, at least he didn't say anything," Kon hopped up onto the bed. "So you stickin' around?" he turned to the blonde, as he preferred that vizard over the orange-haired one he was accustomed to.

Shinji looked at Ichigo for help in making hid decision but only received another questioning look. "It was bound to happen eventually, right?" Shinji shrugged. At this point, he really didn't have much choice.

"Why didn't you disappear?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

The real answer to that, of course, would be that it really wouldn't do much good because Ishin would see it all anyway. "You were distracting me!" he scolded in a hushed voice.

Kon continued to laugh and they continued to bicker about whose fault it was that they got caught. Like many of their recent arguments, the bickering lost its adversarial edge and quickly became passive-aggressive flirting. They had all but kissed and made up when his father returned to summon them for dinner, and probably would have if they hadn't just gotten a healthy injection of parental fear.

"'Kay boys, it's dinner time," Ishin informed from outside his son's bedroom door, which he was happy to see was still open. When they exited, he spoke to them directly this time. "Hakaro-kun, would you mind going and sitting with the girls? I'd like to have a word with my son."

"Of course," Shinji hurried downstairs.

Ichigo swallowed hard, "Look, dad, it's not-" he tried.

Ishin gave his son a funny, resigned sort of smile. "Was he your date I heard about?"

Ichigo's heart jumped into his throat. He didn't know what to say and so ended up stammering helplessly.

"Heh, at least I don't have to worry about you getting him pregnant, right?" he tried. After some time to reason it out, he realized that he didn't have an issue with his son's sexual preferences. He imaged his reaction if Ichigo had fallen for one of his real male classmates (not just someone posing as one of his classmates) and though the idea that his name might not get passed on disappointed him, he only wanted his kids to be happy.

The orange-haired teen's mouth gaped open at his father's words.

Ishin laughed at the reaction before changing almost instantaneously to a much more stern, fatherly look. "Leave your door open when he's here." Then his lighthearted smile returned, "Come on. Dinner's gettin' cold."

Ichigo followed in silent astonishment down the stairs and took his seat at the table.

The meal that followed was awkward at best but that was to be expected. Even his sisters sensed the tension but did their best to play it off and did a fair job of lightening the mood considerably. There were even a few genuine smiles from the three males by the time Yuzu presented their desserts. She hadn't intended for there to be a dessert but with how strange they were behaving, she thought they could at least use a couple scoops of ice cream to sweeten their moods. It seemed to work, much to her delight.

When Ichigo reluctantly departed for a moment to visit the restroom. As much as he wanted to simply hide in there, he knew it wouldn't be very nice to leave Shinji hanging like that so he tried to make it as quick as possible. In the meantime, Shinji, with nothing better to do, helped Yuzu clear the table while Karin and Ishin retreated to the television nearby

"Hakaro-kun," she began carefully, quietly once the tv was on.

He gave her a slightly nervous look, "Yes?"

"I think Ichi-ni really likes you," she observed.

She could tell that from one awkward dinner where they hardly even spoke to one another? This kid was perceptive in ways that Ichigo couldn't even dream of. "I rather like your brother," he replied simply.

"You should visit more often then. He needs more reasons to smile," she advised in her own quiet way before starting on the dishes and just in time for her brother to come back from the bathroom. She gave a pleased little smile into the dishwater. Normally, she wasn't one to meddle like that but a gentle nudge in the right direction wouldn't hurt.

Ichigo returned just in time to hear his dad invite the blonde to watch some stupid wrestling program. He was about to help him refuse but Shinji handled it himself.

"Oh, no thanks. I hate to eat and run but I really should get going." He turned back to Yuzu who was still tending to the dishes, "Thanks for the meal. It was delicious."

"Uh, here," Ichigo finally stepped in. "I'll walk you out."

The two sisters and the father said good night to the teen's friend before the door was closed.

"I'm so sorry-" Ichigo apologized.

Shinji laughed. "Don't worry about it. I had a pretty good time all things considered. Your sister even invited me back."

"Really?" the teen blinked in surprise.

"Sure. But I really should go. I'll see you soon, okay?" he gave Ichigo a quick kiss on the cheek.

They said their good nights and Shinji managed to slip away without any further physical affections.


	33. Double or Nothin'

To add insult to injury, Ishin was the first one to notice Ichigo's episode was starting. Even before his own son, who was sleeping restlessly in the next room, he could feel it starting. The first time it happened, he didn't realize what it was until the teenager had already disappeared. Suffice to say, the father was relieved to see his son a few days later, apparently unscathed. Then, the second one. Now that he knew what it was, he felt helpless; there was nothing he could do for the boy. Luckily, at least in some regards, Ichigo seemed to have things figured out well enough to know he needed to go take care of it. Having the teenager return the following day was a much welcomed change from the first incident as well.

Tonight would be the third and the father, that was now more involved in his son's relationships than the young man could even dream, was lying in his bed wondering if there was anything he could do to ease the discomfort, for both of them, as sensing the sexual energy of his own offspring was mildly disturbing in itself. Ishin laughed a little when he realized that part of him wanted to go shake his son awake and tell him to get going, until that part realized who he would be getting going to. Then he gave a quiet grumble and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. There was no way he was going to sleep tonight.

* * *

Ichigo tossed and turned for the better part of the night, all the while groaning and moaning strange things. Even in his mostly sleeping state, he wondered if the any of the other vizards' episodes started like his, creeping up on him in the night, hollow whispering beautiful obscenities while jerking and tugging at his soul. Waking up hopelessly tangled in his own bed sheets, especially with no one there to help him, was also something he had a difficult time getting used to. Worst of all, however, was having the reason for waking be the unbearable throbbing in his lower abdomen.

When Ichigo's eyes finally opened, he gave a weird little smile at the time, 2:34 am. The smile faded as he untangled himself and shuffled toward the bathroom. He needed relief but not in a room that shared a wall with someone he was related to, at least not when he was unsure of his vocal control. He was glad he did because an audaciously loud moan escaped him when he first reached into his pajama pants. It was stifled a split second after it started by a towel.

"Fuck," he grumbled into the terry fabric and that seemed to keep his voice down. He didn't waste any time. He rubbed himself as hard and as fast as he could, barely managing to pull himself out of his pants before the first spurts of cum. Knowing better than to stop there, he rode through that wave and kept going for a second before his member lost most of its rigidity. A sigh of relief and a few minutes of clean up later, he was back out in the dark hallway. He swore again, this time under his breath, when he heard someone making noise in the kitchen. In spite of himself, he had to see who it was and what they were doing at this hour.

"Dad?" he blinked through the sudden brightness.

"Ichigo," he briefly considered attacking the young man. If it had been any other circumstance, he would have. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Um-bathroom. What about you?" he had to ask, as being in the kitchen at two-thirty was even stranger.

"Oh, uh-" he froze for a second and then blurted out the half-baked plan he'd been conjuring up. "Well ya see, your sisters have been really good and they've been doing really well in school so I thought I'd surprise them with a camping trip."

Ichigo frowned deeply at that, gears already turning for how to get out of the family outing. "What about me?"

"Well, I got a call from your teacher the other day," he began in the parental voice that he had mastered.

Ichigo swore under his breath. That kind of thing was never good.

"She said that you're starting to turn around. Sorry, I can't let ya come," he informed resolutely.

"Better? I'm doing better?" Ichigo gave a look of disbelief.

"Yeah, so don't screw around while we're gone," he threatened.

Ichigo turned and started back toward the stairs.

"We'll probably be gone by the time you get up for school."

"Good night, Dad," he tried to sound annoyed but only to hide his glee. He went back to his room and listened quietly to his father pack the car, make breakfast, wake his sisters, eat, let them pack, and leave in the car.

* * *

Ishin made two stops on their way out of town. The first was to fuel up the second was at a warehouse on the way out of town. The girls were still pretty sleepy so they didn't really question it when he told them he needed to ask a friend to watch the house.

He made his way in without impediment and though he sensed the others around, he only found one vizard.

"I-Ishin-san, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Shinji asked. By now he felt Ichigo's need as well and had been waiting for him to make a move.

"It's Ichigo. He needs you," the father averted his eyes. He didn't want to believe what he was saying because he couldn't believe what he was doing.

"You mean he's having an episode. I know," the blonde replied evenly.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked bitterly.

"You don't understand how this works. It's his move to make."

Ishin frowned and his glare toward the vizard intensified. "Look. I'm taking the girls out for the weekend. He'd better be fixed by the time I get back or I'll hold you personally responsible."

Now it was Shinji's turn to frown. Sure, he wanted Ichigo in a bad way but he disliked being bossed around like that. "He's not broken," the vizard sniped.

Ishin gave a mildly defeated grumble. He would never consider his son broken, no matter what was wrong with him. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I mean that my teenage son is so independent that he won't let me do anything for him anymore. I hate camping but I evacuated the house so that you two could…do…whatever it is that you do. Just go help him."

Shinji cocked a brow. "Are you telling me to go, how'd you put it? Fuck your boy?"

They could both feel the anger welling up in the father at that comment but after being pushed so hard, Shinji was bound to push back. He seethed for a moment before gathering his composure. "Do what you need to. I don't really wanna hear about it." He turned, feeling more than defeated, and headed back to his car.

Shinji followed him and just before they were in view of the car he spoke. "Kurosaki Ishin," he said the man's name very slowly, giving him time to turn back for a moment. "Thank you…for both of us." Then he flitted away.

Ishin shook his head, still wondering if he was doing the right thing. "Don't tear up the place too much." At least he knew who and what the teen was up against, which was a little better than simply hoping for the best.

* * *

When the father of his lover approached him, Shinji was torn about whether or not he should to help Ichigo. He had all but told the young man he was going to and he really, really wanted to, but he knew his next episode was on the horizon and as Ichigo had understated, having both of them like that together might get a little crazy, especially since he had a feeling the teenager would frown on the idea of having a third party there, even if it was just to referee. Now, after that rather unexpected order, he was on his feet and headed for his boyfriend and attempting to push any apprehension aside.

Prior to Ishin's intrusion into their relationship, Shinji used Ichigo's bedroom window as his entrance. Since then, he made a conscious effort to use the front door. After a moment of debate, he tried the front door to find it wasn't locked. With a slight grin, he opened the door.

Ichigo had been rummaging through the kitchen for something quick and easy to fill up on before he lost control of his sense when he heard the intruder. "Hey! What are you doing here?" he asked knowingly.

Shinji smiled at his younger companion, who was still only wearing a pair flannel pajama pants. "I think you know…" he nearly purred.

"You got a lot of guts commin' her like this," he informed with a dangerous tone, forgetting his breakfast. "You're lucky my family's gone." His expression was just as hungry, if not more so than when he had been searching for food.

"I-I saw them leave," he barely covered. "They looked like they'd be gone for a while. Lucky you," the blonde carefully skirted around the edge of the kitchen table and out of arm's reach. He had been dying to play the hard-to-get game with Ichigo ever since the day they were caught in his bedroom.

The orange-haired teen, whose skin seemed to become rosier by the minute in the presence of his lover, gave a suspicious eye at the avoidance but pursued regardless. He recognized the playful twinkle in the other man's eyes. He practically growled as he licked his lips.

Ichigo's behavior was making him feel like a stalked animal. The predatory air about him made his skin tingle with anticipation. He always knew this young man was a quick study but it seemed that he had a fair handle on his condition already. A part of him breathed a sigh of relief at that. The rest of him was busy barely slipping from the grasp of the strong hand that nearly caught him, barely suppressing the childish giggle.

The episodic vizard allowed for two near misses before simply jumping over the table and tackling the blonde, pinning him in the angle between the floor and the cabinet. When their lips met, he did growl and hungrily nipped at his boyfriend's lips and tongue, once it came out to play.

Shinji couldn't help but melt into the aggressive attention, moaning and wiggling wantonly against the body pressed so firmly against his. He could feel the younger vizard's energy pouring into him already and his member was starting to stress his slacks.

"Nnngh, Shinji," Ichigo groaned, turning them so that he could lay his lover on his back and lay on top of him. "I want you so bad." His voice was a husky whisper.

He was going to say that he could tell but the head-rush the other vizard was giving him was too overwhelming to speak. What came out instead was a heated whimper as his legs spread and wrapped around the hips above him. The teen above him gave a dark chuckle and started pulling at his clothes.

Ichigo tried to unbutton his lover's shirt properly but his fingers didn't work that well and when he couldn't manage the second button, he gave a grumble of frustration.

Shinji gave an amused chuckle, "Go 'head, tear it off. I don't care." Actually, that was an understatement, as he rather liked the idea.

Ichigo hesitated.

"Fuckin' do it. Tear my clothes off," he tried again, this time his voice more challenging. "You want to. I can see it in your eyes." After that, the hesitation was gone and his back was suddenly in direct contact with the cold linoleum. He gasped and brought his lover's face down to resume their aggressive kiss. After their last couple of conversations concerning intimacy, he wanted nothing more than to be encouraging.

The younger vizard couldn't help jumping at the opportunity to take care of his needs in a timely fashion. Planning and waiting weren't exactly his strong suits to begin with. "I…I wanna fuck you right here," he started working on the older man's pants. Having spoken his desire gave him the control not to tear that article.

"You don't have to tell me about it…" the man on his back teased, lifting his hips when his pants started to be pulled down. "Just do what you want with me." It was as much a plea for more as it was advice.

Ichigo didn't stop his motions, his body seemed to have a mind of its own and he had a pretty good idea whose mind it was; however, he did respond to the tempting words. "You're just sayin' that 'cause ya know I'm not gunna do anything weird," he harshly teased back even though he'd already reasoned that whatever he lacked in that department was made up for by his strength, enthusiasm, and conviction. He only bothered pulling the older man's pants completely off one leg before patting down his pockets, giving a pleased smirk when he found a bottle of lubricant in one of them.

"I say it 'cause I mean it," he nearly spat back before gasping at the feeling of the cool liquid on his heated skin. "Anything for you," he vowed.

The seriousness of his lover's tone had a strange effect on him, reeling him in in some regards and pushing him toward the deep end in others. With a wild but vacant look in his eyes, Ichigo pulled back. Once on his knees with his pants pulled down, he took Shinji by the wrist and made him sit up. As the blonde rose, the orange-haired vizard laid back. "Worship me," he order quietly, swallowing hard at his own words and silently damning Kensai for putting the idea in his head, only to have it his hollow roll it around for days on end and decide that bodily worship on the whole would be far superior to simply having someone a slave to one part of one's body.

Shinji gave a soft, affectionate laugh, "After that look…I thought you were gunna ask me to do something difficult," he mused as he removed the remainder of their clothing.

Ichigo knew it wouldn't be much of a challenge, but he made sure to leave the order open-ended enough that Shinji could do practically whatever he wanted.

"Where shall I start?" the honey-eyed man asked hopefully, sitting back on his heals for a moment to take in the sight of his flushed and aroused lover.

Ichigo wasn't given the time to answer before the man above him was in action once again, something that often intrigued him. Then, when he felt those soft lips press eagerly into the swollen head of his cock, he could no longer maintain eye contact; his head rolled back, deepening the moan that poured for his lips as readily as the fluid from his shaft.

With an equally pleased sound, he licked some of the cum from his lips and continued his devoted attentions. His tongue and lips memorized every detail of the younger vizard's member before moving downward from there to provide similar attentions to his testicles. All the while, he could feel his companion's unbridled raietsu rushing into him, through every pour, with every breath, and with every beat of his heart.

The orange-haired teen lying on his back gave a strange little moan when the man servicing him started sucking on his balls. If he hadn't experienced it, he wouldn't have thought it possible to cum from that. Shinji moaned around the flesh in his mouth when it happened, nearly spilling himself as well. Ichigo felt the spike in his boyfriend's energy and pushed harder with his own, hoping to intensify the feeling. It worked and better than either of them expected.

The man on his hands and knees gasped, releasing the sensitive flesh from his lips and lost himself on the kitchen floor. "Ichi-g-" He gave a sexy whine as he mumbled the young man's name. Then, after three or four gasps for air, he spoke again. "Did you just-?"

"More!" Ichigo practically demanded in spite of himself.

The renewed order snapped Shinji back to what he was doing. This time he lifted one of the younger vizard's legs and spread he knees.

Ichigo squirmed when he felt that hot breath on his backside, even more so when his cheeks were spread and he could feel it on his puckered opening. He almost came again just from that. He was so caught up in letting himself go that he didn't have enough sense to suppress the sound of mild disgust when his boyfriend's soft tongue started applying firm pressure to the pucker.

"Oh?" Luckily, Shinji sounded more intrigued than anything by it. "You don't like that?" He moved his mouth upward more as he spoke and allowed his fingers, which he knew the teen enjoyed, to explore that asset.

He had made the sound in spite of himself. "It-It's good…just-uh," was all he could manage before the tongue dancing on the underside of his member caused him to cum again.

"It's gross," Shinji finished for him after that wave started to subside.

Ichigo was more than little surprised at his boyfriend's frankness, though he knew he shouldn't have been.

When he saw that the young man on his back didn't have anything to say to that he decided to push him, if only just a bit. "Can I do it anyway?" His voice was husky and he almost couldn't believe how his body seemed to want to go episodic for this person. Just tasting and molesting had him almost there.

Ichigo hesitated but not because he didn't like that variety of attention. Quite the contrary, he'd found it oddly erotic and maybe because it wasn't the most hygienic thing to be doing, at least in part.

"You see," he lowered again, bringing the younger vizard's leg up a little higher than the last time. "I rather enjoy your little hole; it deserves my homage just as much as your cum hose. Don't you agree?"

The blonde's dirty language had his hose dribbling another few spurts of cum as he whined a sound of affirmation. He couldn't argue with a voice like that in the condition he was in and before he even realized he was moving, he was on his hands and knees with his ass in the air, giving Shinji all the room he could need to work. When Shinji made him cum from fondling his balls while pushing past the inherent resistance against his tongue, he practically screamed into the linoleum.

When it happened, Shinji pulled back to awe but instead found himself digging his teeth into the ripe round flesh presented to him so enticingly. The body before him slumped for a split second before he found himself with his back to the cold kitchen floor.

Ichigo hitched the blonde's ankles over his shoulders and doubled him over, "I have to be inside you," he moaned as groped for the opening he desired.

Shinji's only response was a sound of dazed agreement followed immediately by a guttural moan as his vision began to blur around the edges and a wicked cackle began to penetrate past his subconscious. His lover came again less than a handful of thrusts later and with that rush, Shinji also lost himself between their bodies and he could feel his episode beginning to really take effect. "Oh, god, Ichigo…It-…It's happening…" he half whined.

The plea went unrecognized. Ichigo was too lost in pleasure. What didn't go unrecognized, however, were the cries for more that followed. With every plea for harder, faster, deeper, it felt as though the orange-haired vizard was redoubling his efforts.

"Fuck, Ichi-Ichi," he kicked, and harder that either of them expected, when he came with the body providing his with wonderful abuse.

The intensity of the fluctuation they caused made Ichigo's breath hitch for a moment and when Shinji kicked, it knocked him off balance. No matter, though, because the blonde had the instinct to finish the motion and roll them over. If either of them were to think on that moment later, they would realize that much of what caused it was Shinji's inability to remain that passive for very long.

Before he could even blink, or at least that's how it seemed in the heat of the moment, Ichigo was on his back. They never actually broke physical contact and he was so dazed that he didn't realize his member had been released from the other's body until it was sheathed again. He also didn't realize that he'd shut his eyes until he opened them to look at the lithe figure now riding him so hard that he thought his hips might break.

Shinji practically howled every time his prostate was struck and the times when his member slapped particularly hard against the stomach below him, it added a half-strangled element to whatever other sounds he was making. With the way his lover was pushing and pulling with him, both physically and spiritually, it wasn't long before his releases were stringing together, alternating between slow dribbles and hard spurts.

All this commotion did not go unnoticed. Ishin had made sure to leave one thing behind. He even went through his daughters' things to make sure they didn't take Kon with them because Yuzu had a tendency to carry him along on longer trips.

The stuffed lion made his way down the stairs, drawn by the sounds of obvious passion. He was still half asleep when he first caught sight of the pair and normally, he tried to ignore the teenager's reckless raietsu. He stumbled back up a few steps as the gravity of their situation hit him. That didn't last because once he regained his bearings, he was descending once again, this time with more stealth. Not that the stealth was needed, they were so caught up in what they were doing that a truck could have plowed though the front of their house and they probably wouldn't have noticed.

He watched in near awe as the couple wildly made love on the kitchen floor. It would have been total awe if he hadn't also been experiencing a fair amount of jealousy. He would have given almost anything to be in either of their positions, preferably Ichigo's, but either would do. He'd been screwed senseless by the orange-haired vizard before so he knew how enjoyable that could be.

But then there was Shinji. As far as Kon was concerned, the fair and flexible blonde with the sharp eyes and cheeky smile was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen. He grumbled at his own envy and knew it would only get worse as he continued to watch them grasp and claw at each other's bodies but he couldn't tear his eyes away. If their last couple of conversations hadn't gone so poorly, he would have approached him, or at least planned to approach them.

It was pretty clear that neither one would appreciate an interruption at this point, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they would slow and he would have to decide whether to say something or to simply hide. It was starting to feel like hiding was his better option.


	34. Hurt You

Ichigo hadn't expected to be the first one to lose steam and he was only just starting to realize that he'd pushed his partner into an episode of his own. "Shit-Shinji!" he groaned when his softened member slipped from the body above him only to have it sat on, rather rudely, a moment later. He had to take hold of the thin hips above his to prevent it from happening again.

"Nnngh, Ichi…please…" he pleaded, though for what exactly he didn't care.

To ease the fervent man, Ichigo moved one of his hands to the swollen organ rubbing eagerly against his. The blonde jerked violently at the attention and would have fallen backward if Ichigo hadn't started to guide him downward, placing his other hand between the thinner man's shoulders so he could hold their bodies together as tightly as possible.

Shinji gladly clung to the body below him, anything for more delicious friction. "I need more…Give me more…" he barely spoke between his sounds of pleasure, "Can't stop now…"

"Take me then," Ichigo offered rather matter-of-factly and wrapped his legs around the older vizard's waist.

The teen's words made Shinji tremble; he pulled back, but only as much as was needed to look into his lover's face. "Ichi-go…"

"What are you waiting for?" Ichigo asked impatiently. He even stopped stroking the length in his hand to guide it downward.

"I-" he barely started before moving one hand to brace himself on the floor next to the orange-haired young man. His other went to join Ichigo's in guiding him toward sweet-hot bliss. He gave a choked-out cry when he came, the head of his cock only pressing into the puckered opening. "Fuck," he squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could. He had something he wanted to say but the heat was frying his brain.

Ichigo, though a little taken aback by his boyfriend's aggression and desperation, made only sounds of receptive affection as he tried to push back. "Come on. Quit teasin' me! Fuck me already!" he wanted to slap the older man for lingering the way he was.

With an animalistic growl Shinji entered his young lover, any prior hesitation evaporating. When Ichigo practically screamed at taking the other man all at once, Shinji held him tightly. "Aaaah-yesssss," he hissed into the young man's ear. He slammed into the strong body beneath him again, he moving his lips a little lower and starting to nibbling on the neck just below the ear he had been teasing.

After that, Ichigo found himself stuck in a series of whimpers and moans as the man he'd come to love and admire unleashed upon him the most deliciously relentless ass-fucking he'd ever received, and would ever receive for quite some time after. It was so hard it made his vision blur and though he was prepared mentally and emotionally, he wasn't exactly physically prepared, giving the pleasure he was receiving an edge of pain that only drove him more wild .

Shinji recognized the slightly pained timber in his partner's vocal appreciations but he couldn't bring himself to ease up even in the slightest. Actually, he found himself struggling against trying to make them louder.

By this point, their energies were so intertwined that they might as well have been sharing a single raietsu. This was much of the reason that Ichigo could feel that even though this was the most reckless the older vizard had been with him, he could also feel that there was a part of him holding back but all he could do was make a sound of mild dissatisfaction that mixed readily with the other strange sounds he was making.

"I-…I'm hurting you…aren't I?" Shinji finally asked, his voice dark, hopeful but reluctant and shameful and his pace never faltering.

Ichigo winced a little, "Yeah, kinda…but I-"

"But you can take it, right?" Shinji's follow-up came with little regard to the answer to the first question.

The teen grunted, part of him wishing that he was in his soul body; it could take a lot more punishment but before he could even think to reply, Shinji bit him. He yelped and kicked reflexively when the blonde's perfectly straight teeth clamped onto his juncture between his neck and shoulder, one of the young man's sweet spots.

When that reaction ebbed, Shinji let go only to move lower to another piece of flesh that he felt deserved his attention, his lover's pectoral muscles, but not just anywhere. He preferred the bits just to either side of the dip of the sternum and decided to go for the one on his right so that his next love -bite could be closer to his partner's heart.

Ichigo howled again, in mixed pleasure and pain from the bite and it continued as the older vizard's energy peaked yet again. The pain in his backside was all but gone, only reinforced occasionally with particularly strong thrusts.

Once satisfied with the mark on the tanned chest beneath him, Shinji pulled back to look into Ichigo's eyes again. The younger vizard was practically holding his breath waiting for the next assault but before the blonde could attack his lips, his pace faltered and his slipped out. "No more! I can't take any more…" he pleaded. "No more," he repeated a couple of times.

Ichigo felt a strange sort of pang in his heart at his boyfriend's sudden change in demeanor. Instinctively, he reached out and pulled them close again. When Shinji still fought him, his movements obviously involuntary, he rolled them over to pin him with his body weight. They were both exhausted but he still had superior mass on his side.

Shinji whimpered and clawed at Ichigo's body as he clung to him. "Ichi-Ichi…"

"Shhh…" the teen soothed, holding him close and affectionately petting his hair.

"Ichigo…" he said after a few more moments of rather successful hushing.

"What is it?" he asked carefully as it was now clear the man pinned beneath him had something to say that wasn't impassioned babble.

"The others…they don't like it-me-if we're both…" he began, his thoughts totally jumbled.

"What are you saying?" Ichigo actually pulled away just a bit to look into the honey eyes he loved so much.

"If it happens…th-they…" he stammered and held his lover even more tightly.

"They what?"

"They separate us…" he admitted.

"What like it's not safe if two vizard are together when," Ichigo began.

"J-Just if it's me," Shinji reluctantly clarified.

"What are you saying?"

"I-I don't care what happens…I just want to ride this out with you, though," he quietly spoke.

"Well, yeah," Ichigo hugged the thin, but toned, body beneath him. "Don't be stupid." He breathed a sigh of relief and started to pass out.

Shinji babbled for another few minutes before losing consciousness.

When it looked to Kon like Ichigo wasn't going to be able to handle Shinji by himself, he grew hopeful, but after that last exchange, he decided that non-interference was his better option. He retreated back to the twin's room but only after dragging the blanket from the back of the couch over to cover them. He paused for a moment to glare jealously at Ichigo and only stopped that to admire the man sleeping beneath him. He even brushed a few stray hairs away from the blonde's eyes.

* * *

The couple awoke that afternoon, the grossness of their situation only balanced by the comfort they felt both at waking together and at having been covered.

"What's this?" Shinji tugged at the blanket. "I didn't feel you get up," he mused.

"I didn't get up," Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed.

"Then who-?"

Ichigo was worried for a moment until it dawned on him that his dad might have left someone behind. "Kon," he replied quietly.

"He's still here?" Shinji had gotten the impression that Ishin had removed everyone but Ichigo from the house.

"I guess. I dunno who else it'd be. That perv probably watched us," he grumbled.

Shinji frowned at the disparaging tone Ichigo used when talking about the mod soul. "I'd've watched if I was him," he shrugged.

Ichigo laughed. "I guess I probably would too." He reflected for a moment; things had gotten pretty crazy there for a bit.

"Should we say something to him?" Shinji asked, looking where he could without moving to see if the plushy was nearby.

"Like what?" Ichigo countered with notable incredulity, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm surprised _he_ didn't say anything."

"Oh? I bet he'd want to join us," Shinji teased, somewhat hopefully.

"I doubt that…" Ichigo grumbled.

"Why not?" The last time he checked, Kon was more than willing to jump into these situations with both feet.

"Let's take a shower. I'm feelin' pretty gross," the teen offered and suddenly withdrew.

Shinji followed and didn't broach the subject again until after they were in the shower. "Did you guys have a fight or somethin'?"

"What?" Ichigo tried to evade.

"You and Kon. You had a fight, didn't you?"

The teen looked away. "Yeah. Kinda."

"What happened?" Shinji pressed.

"It's stupid. I don't wanna talk about it," Ichigo dismissed. Even though the worst clash, the one over the panties, seemed to have, for the most part, passed, he still felt very much like a jerk for how forceful he had tried to be with the mod soul.

The older man frowned and let it go. He was starting to become aroused again and didn't want anything to get in the way of that even if he was a little worried.

They had only managed to get rinsed off before Shinji closed the gap between their bodies and when his lover started examining the marks he'd left, Ichigo felt a jolt of anxiety leap of up his spine.

"I'm sorry I bit you," Shinji offered sheepishly before leaning down to kiss the one near the young man's throat. "I can't fix it now, but later-"

"Why _did_ you bite me anyway?" Ichigo suddenly blurted out.

Shinji paused and pulled back but instead of looking up into Ichigo's eyes, as was expected of him, he looked lower, to the other set of angry teeth marks. His second assault appeared to have broken the skin. "I'm just that way; I like to bite, sometimes scratch…" he mused with a slight grin and only then looked up.

Ichigo found himself momentarily speechless. He felt pinned by the look of renewed hunger in his lover's eyes.

"Here," Shinji laced his fingers in the younger vizard's wet orange mop of hair and guided his head downward until he felt hot breath tickling the droplets on his shoulder in roughly the same spot he'd bruised on the other. Ichigo hesitated until Shinji said, "It makes me so hot," he practically confessed.

After that, he couldn't resist repaying the punishment and had to make sure Shinji didn't fall when he came, knees buckling. Once the man had his balance, however, he had to hold him away because he was going in for another bite of his own, this one aimed somewhere around his collar bone. "Shinji," he hastily interrupted and expected to be fought or ignored but received a look of dizzy disappointment instead. He almost gave in at that look.

"What is it, Ichi-kun?" Shinji asked sweetly.

"Can I-umm…That is, would you mind if I-er," he stammered.

"Just spit it out." The blonde's voice was still very sweet, almost unnervingly so.

"I wanna be in my soul body," he said as though it would somehow hurt the other's feelings.

Shinji reluctantly pulled back but only so he could get a fuller view of the one standing in the hot shower spray with him. "I suppose it's for the better…just in case, right?"

That made Ichigo even more uncomfortable. "I just-" He was just about to say that he was going to simply lay his empty body someplace safe instead of giving it to Kon.

"Gimme one more round with that sweet mouth first," Shinji ordered in a husky voice.

Shinji's strong hands on his shoulders had him complying in a matter of moments, taking as much of him as he could on his first try.

"Nnngh, that's right," Shinji coaxed, taking hold of the young man's orange hair again and guiding his motions, uncaring that more often than not it caused him to gag. "I'm gunna fill your belly so full of cum that you won't need to eat for a week!" he nearly bragged.

After the third time he thought he was going to choke on cock, Ichigo decided that was enough. He took hold of Shinji's wrists and pulled them away from his head. It took some doing because they were so firmly laced in his short hair. When he was finally free, he pulled away to look up to see what sort of reaction he provoked.

Shinji appeared more than a little put off by the gesture and tried not to glare impudently downward. "What?" he with as little indignity as he could muster.

"Am I doin' somethin' wrong?" Ichigo didn't bother to mask his indignity.

"No, I just-" he was cut off almost as soon as he started.

"Then what the hell?"

His lover's scolding took Shinji so aback that he tried to pull away, even taking a step backward to put some distance between them. Unfortunately, he was back pretty much as far as he could go already and his heal slipped on the back slope of the bath tub, causing him to slip. Ichigo caught the fair blonde, saving him from all but lump he would have on the back of his head from the corner of the tub.

"Shit!" Ichigo swore, holding the other vizard's slackened form against his own and turning off the water. "Shinji," he lifted the other's face to see his eyes were half-lidded.

"Ichigo?" he was obviously dazed by the blow.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" he held three fingers a few inches from the blonde's face.

Shinji just gave a foolish giggle and reached around the concerned body above him. "How many fingers _am I_ holding up?" he asked as he pushed two inside the teen's worn hole.

Ichigo grunted and lurched forward onto his boyfriend's body. "You're off by one," he teased in spite of himself.

"My apologies," he added the third and rubbed their erections together, his already swollen and aching, Ichigo's only starting to come back to life. "I get carried away sometimes, ya know?" he suddenly added.

"It's cool," Ichigo dismissed. Now that the moment had passed, the aggressiveness of it didn't bother him. "Just don't choke me," he even laughed a little at that.

"You've got such a big mouth, I didn't think it'd be a problem," Shinji taunted in return.

"So that's how it's gunna be," Ichigo mused only to move back down and once again attempt to engulf the swollen organ once again. This time, he was much more successful both in inches and ease.

Shinji's head rolled back and forth as he started cumming again.

There was so much fluid that Ichigo had a difficult time catching it all, not that it mattered. He'd managed to subdue the more aggressive side of his boyfriend once again and wasn't planning on stopping until he'd gotten everything he could out of what he was doing. On top of that, he had the more advantageous position once again, something he wasn't willing to surrender.

"Don't let me hurt you any more…it's too much for me," he mumbled when that peak began to fade. The spikes that it created in the younger vizard's raietsu too easily overtook his good sense and fed the more violent tendencies of his darker side. His hands were trembling with the urge to touch the one so adeptly servicing him but the fear that he might do more harm than good had him grasping at the sides of the bathtub instead of his lover.

Ichigo wanted to tell Shinji to shut up, that they were both going to do whatever they wanted anyway, and that he had a better handle on his raietsu that he was being given credit for. He wouldn't have feed into it if he didn't expect it to escalate but he couldn't help pushing it. However, his mouth was quite full, to the point of overflowing. He had to do something else to cut short those kinds of pleas.

Shinji yelped and nearly blacked out when the sensitive flesh of his upper inner thigh was given a harsh pinch.

Ichigo chuckled a little around the length in his mouth and gave the flesh a harsh twist, reveling in the pathetic whine and extra flood that he received in return. Without thinking, he dug his nails in and pinched even harder, causing his partner to finally let go of the tub and focus us nearly crushing grip on his shoulders instead. He winced but kept going until the member in his mouth grew mostly soft.

Shinji mumbled his boyfriend's name in several different variations before his eyes rolled back and he passed out again, leaving him with the issue of his renewed arousal to deal with. For a moment he was amused by his own regret at having done such a good job sating his partner. Then he sprayed them off which only managed to half-rouse the blonde.

Though only half awake, and almost wholly so due to the sudden splash of water, Shinji did notice the anxious length that occasionally pressed and rubbed against him as Ichigo tried to rinse them off. "Oh, Ichi…I'm so selfish. I'm so sorry," he slid to his knees and started to gently suckle the swollen head.

The suddenly gentle and apologetic motions took Ichigo off guard once again but that was quickly forgotten when the several large swallows of cum were nursed from his cock. He wished it could have lasted longer but the water once used to clean them was now turning cold and Ichigo had to reluctantly pull away to eliminate that annoyance.

Shinji appeared disappointed when his lover did not immediately return for more affection but bit his tongue when the young man's stomach growled.

"I know you were tryin' but I'm starvin'. I need some real food before I can keep goin'," he snatched a couple of towels off the rack and tossed one at his guest.

Shinji laughed a little and accepted the towel. "Order out," he advised, "unless you've got something quick you can make."

"Oh yeah? Don't think you could keep your hands off me for that long?" Ichigo stood and exited the tub, making sure to stick his butt in Shinji's face.

"Things get messy fast if you do anything else." He couldn't resist the taunt and gave the younger vizards a slap on the ass.

"I was feelin' pretty lazy anyway," Ichigo laughed and dodged a second swat. "How's pizza sound?"

They quickly decided what they wanted and Ichigo left Shinji to his own devices upstairs while he made the call and got his money together. Luckily, his dad left him some cash so he could eat out. With a spring in his step, the orange-haired teen descended the stairs and went for the phone.

"Yo," Kon greated, apparently unamused as he sat on the kitchen table. He'd been doing just fine, all things considered, until they moved upstairs where he could really hear them and into the bathroom no less where the spray of the shower did very little to dampen their cries of reckless passion as they echoed off the tile.

Ichigo practically jumped out of his skin and very nearly dropped his towel when he heard the voice. After fumbling to not drop the phone for a moment, he replied, "Hey, Kon…" he didn't really know what to say. Really, what was there to say?

"You look like shit," the plushy harshly observed, only barely able to conceal how jealous that made him not only because of who made him that way but also because he always had to keep that body in tip-top condition.

"Uh, yeah…well, it's fine," Ichigo stammered, more than a little embarrassed by his condition since someone was blatantly staring at him.

"Look, not that I _want_ your body when you're all banged up like that but maybe you should let me take care of the pizza," he suggested.

Ichigo wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd been planning to exit his body in a little while anyway but he hadn't really been planning to give it to Kon. "Naw, it's okay," he attempted to dismiss. "Like ya said, I'm all banged up, you don't wanna deal with that."

"I won't try anything. I'll just keep outta slight like I've been doing." He wouldn't even have to bother them when the pizza came because it was primarily to feed Ichigo's body anyway, something he was quite adept at doing.

Ichigo swallowed hard. He had been a little worried about what sort of action the mod soul might take with the liberties an actual human body provided. "Why didn't you go with Dad and the twins?" Ichigo suddenly asked.

"I got left behind," Kon bitterly replied. "So, whatdaya say?" he strengthened his resolve by asking a question of his own.

The teen still appeared unsure.

"It's mean to make him wait," Kon pointed out and a moment later found himself in Ichigo's bruised body.

"Thanks…I think," Ichigo said before turning to go back up the stairs.

Kon immediately followed.

"Where are _you_ going?"

"I'm gunna get dressed before your room gets torn apart," he haughtily replied, even stepping past the soul reaper to prove that he wasn't following.

"Make it quick," he snapped before turning and going back into the bathroom.

"What was that?" Shinji tried to peer out the door but it was shut before he could see anything.

"Kon's takin' care of the food so that I can take care of you." Ichigo closed the gap between their bodies, bumping their erections together.

That made Shinji all but speechless. "We'll have to find a way to thank him."

The grin that the orange-haired vizard had been somewhat forcing when he delivered the news about the mod soul faltered and even turned into a bit of a frown. "Whatever," he dismissed and attempted to start a kiss but was deflected.

"What's the matter with you?" Shinji suddenly asked. "He's doing you a huge favor and all you can say is whatever?"

"Whatever you say?" he tried, silently cursing himself.

It was pretty clear that Shinji didn't like that answer either. "What happened between you two? I thought you were pretty close," he rested his head on Ichigo's chest with a heavy sigh.

"I don't think we were ever _close_…but I think he hates me now," Ichigo admitted. It was the first time he had managed to say the thought aloud and it was obvious by his tone that it was something he almost feared.

"Why?" Shinji couldn't imagine Ichigo doing anything that could make anyone actually hate him.

"It's stupid. I don't wanna talk about it," he evaded for the second time that day.

Shinji shot a look of incredulity upward.

"I was stupid. I don't wanna talk about it," he corrected.

"Have you at least said you're sorry?" the blonde tried.

"I've wanted to but…I don't think he'd let me even if I tried." the teen gave a heavy sigh.

"I guess all you can do then is give it some time," Shinji soothed and they left the bathroom after a few minutes of kissing and groping unaware that the third party in question had heard a fair portion of their conversation.


	35. Help You

"Ichigo," Shinji mumbled as he was laid down on the teen's twin bed. "Someone's here."

The young man above gave a strange look, "Like who?"

"It's…" he trailed off as he tried to concentrate on a raietsu other than theirs. He frowned deeply. "On the roof," he managed.

However, that answer did give the younger vizard a better idea of what kind of person it might be. "Forget about'em," he nearly growled, spreading the older man's legs.

Shinji gave a heated whine when Ichigo entered him, spilling himself between their bodies.

Ichigo didn't bother trying to sense out who was trying to keep tabs on them. As far as he was concerned, any intruder would get exactly what they deserved for interrupting their intense intimacy.

When there was a knocking on the door thirty minutes, or less, later, Ichigo didn't hear it. Shinji was moaning too loudly and right in his ear to hear much of anything other than what they were doing. Shinji, on the other hand, nearly leapt out of his skin. Sensing his lover's sudden discomfort, the younger vizard pulled back and slowed his pace.

"What's the matter?" They were approaching another peak and even just that consideration took considerable effort in itself, but then they could hear talking downstairs. "It's just the pizza. Chill out." He leaned down and planted a sure kiss on the blonde's sweat-soaked forehead. It was reasonably effective and they were able to ride that one out together.

When his member softened as a result, he pulled himself from the still writhing body below him. It was getting difficult to keep conscious but he knew he had to because it was obvious that Shinji wasn't even close to done yet.

"You gotta take over," he groaned as he tried to reposition them, his movements sluggish at best.

Take over was one thing that the older and still very fervent vizard was very good at and very willing to do. Once on top, he reared up onto his knees, taking with him Ichigo's ankles so that he could put them over his shoulders. However, when the swollen head of his cock penetrated his lover's wanting body, the reaction was a sound that indicated something to the contrary. With a growl of frustration, he pulled back. He had to put some space between them so he didn't simply do what his body desired.

Ichigo cursed under his breath. Being penetrated without much of preparation for the first time had been bad enough. This time, it was without any at all and in spite of himself, he wasn't really ready for it. The reaction he gave, the gasp and wince of sudden pain, couldn't have been helped. After all that had happened, he felt very foolish for such a reaction. He wanted Shinji inside him and he had all but told the man to do it. Now the look he was receiving in return was a mix of emotions he'd never quite seen before but looked largely unpleasant nonetheless. All he could do was offer a nervous, embarrassed sort of laugh but it seemed to break the tension.

Usually, this would be the part where Shinji would pull out the lube but what was left of that was still downstairs. "Uh," Ichigo shifted a little and Shinji allowed them to separate for a moment. "Here…" he started digging through the back of the drawer in his beside stand. The blonde's smile was renewed when he returned seconds later with a bottle and handed it off.

"Strawberry?" Shinji laughed when he finally got a look at the container.

"It's not exactly mine," he blushed as he tried to get back into the position the other vizard had put him in.

"Oh?" he distractedly prompted while pouring a significant amount into the palm of his hand.

"Kon bought it," he elaborated and then gave a slight sigh of relief when he felt the cool liquid on his backside, his lover's warm hands rubbing it in. "One of the less stupid things he's blown my money on."

The feeling of Ichigo relaxing beneath him once again gave Shinji a renewed sense of confidence and started with two fingers to immediately start stretching. "Another reason we should thank him then," he tried.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably at that but it didn't hold up because Shinji's off hand was now gently stroking his member. "What do you have in mind?"

Shinji's answer was a naughty giggle.

Ichigo somehow managed not to frown, probably because his feverish boyfriend was getting ready to attempt penetrating him again. "I can't do that with him," Ichigo tried.

"You have before," Shinji pointed out haughtily, positioning himself just so.

"I-I was too forceful with him…and too mean…he won't have me," the younger vizard unwillingly admitted.

In an eerie moment of clarity triggered by Ichigo's tone, Shinji gave a solomn nod. Then with a sigh he said, "Unfortunately, that happens sometimes."

"But I wasn't-" he began but the man above him shook his head.

"It doesn't matter but now that you've made the mistake you can't let it happen again. Not learning from it and repeating it is what will truly make you a bad person." Then the blonde fidgeted a little. "Enough of this seriousness." He dismissed before plunging in.

It still hurt a bit but it was much better now and quickly lost the painful edge. After that, any sort of cognitive thought of his was gone and he was arching his back, clawing at the bedsheets, and mewling his lover's name. All the while, Shinji's mischievous grin never wavered.

The older vizard found it both disappointing and promising when the body he was finding release in finally gave. Ichigo was quickly losing consciousness but Shinji wasn't going to give up until his young lover was totally gone. So, instead of trying to continue to pound into a limp and largely unresponsive body, he let the young man's legs fall to either side of him and settled for grinding their hips together, creating a stirring sensation that was still quite pleasurable for the both of them.

Ichigo whimpered and gave quiet groans in response as he fought to give whatever he had left to the man still in need. When the movement stopped and they laid still, aside from breathing and the occasional shifting, he felt less inadequate for his inability to keep up any longer. He had hoped that shifting to his soul form would increase his stamina but it was so worn from before that this kind of direct contact only drained him faster.

"I…I'm sorry…I can't keep up anymore," he whined, limbs feeling like lead.

"Shhh," Shinji soothed. "It's okay. You rest for a bit before we finish." He could feel Ichigo's episode starting to fade but he still had enough left in him to keep the young man in such a state for just a little while longer.

Ichigo relaxed beneath the warm body covering his. Shinji gave a quiet but still rather wicked giggle as he pulled the covers over them and snuggled in. After a few minutes, when he was sure his lover was asleep, he brought his lips close to the young mans' ear. "Ichi-kun?" he asked quietly and received a sound of sleepy recognition. "How do you feel?" he asked carefully.

Ichigo mumbled for a second, made a pleased sound, and held the man in his arms more tightly for a moment.

Shinji smiled. "Can I do you a favor?" he continued in his sweetly wicked voice whispering into the teen's ear.

Another sound of sleepy recognition.

"I'm gunna try and make you and Kon better again," he informed as though it was the only thing he should be doing at the moment.

Ichigo was too asleep to really realize what was being said to him. If he had, he would have fought it. Things were bad enough without picking at the scab.

Time had all but healed the schism that the awkward panty incident had brought to a head and while neither one of them was terribly comfortable with one another at the moment, they were getting better as they put it behind them.

Shinji, on the other hand, couldn't leave well enough alone. Once Ichigo was totally out, he slipped away and started combing the younger vizard's bedroom for anything of interest before moving on to the double of his lover sequestered downstairs.

* * *

"Kon," Shinji called sweetly when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Shinji?" a voice called from the couch.

The blonde peered over the back to see the mod soul nearing a food coma, a half-eaten pizza on the floor nearby. He giggled a little at how adorable a scene it was.

"Is somethin' wrong? Where's Ichigo?" he asked when he saw the strange look in the vizard's eyes.

"I sorta knocked him out," Shinji tried to make it sound unintentional. "He's takin' a time out."

"Oh…" Kon shifted uncomfortably. The opening he'd been offered was so big that he didn't know what to do with it. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked carefully.

"Funny you should ask," Shinji mused ironically as he made his way around the side of the couch. "May I sit with you for a bit?"

Kon blinked in confusion and turned this head to watch the fair blonde as he came into a fuller view. He was obviously still pretty excited, though not overwhelmingly so, at least for the time being, and he was wearing a pair of Ichigo's boxers. "Yeah, sure," he managed but before he could sit up, Shinji sat down on the floor with his back to the couch, leaving him to continue reclining.

"I was actually hoping that I could do something for you," he offered, somewhat sheepishly but with marked hopefulness.

The mod soul rolled onto his side so that he could get a better view of the man mostly facing away from him. "Like what?"

"I want to make things better between you and Ichigo." It was his way of thanking the mod soul for everything he'd done for them.

"We're fine, don't worry about it," Kon dismissed and turned onto his stomach, burring his face in the soft cushion of the couch.

That made Shinji turn as well, so that could try to find some insight within the fleeing features. When that failed, he simply placed a sure hand on the bruised back presented him. "I know that's a lie and it only makes me worry more."

Kon grumbled.

"I know he hurt you," he continued, his tone slightly accusatory and to his surprise, Kon laughed and not the kind of sad or detached sort of chuckle he expected. It was an incredulous and rather audacious out-right laugh. "What's funny?" he suddenly felt a sick sinking in the pit of his stomach.

"Did he tell you what happened?"

"He didn't really wanna talk about it. He just said that he was…forceful," he had to pause to remember the seemingly harmless word with obviously harmful connotations. "He was mean."

"Yeah. He was pretty mean…" Kon laughed again, this time with amused reflection. "But the forceful part didn't really bother me," he tried and gave a sideways glance to see the man's reaction. "Are you really worried about me…or are you just doing this because he's still all hung up about it?" he asked suddenly.

Shinji frowned. "Can't I worry about both of you?"

"But you and Ichigo are…" he wasn't sure what word to use to describe the relationship.

"Ichigo and I are nakama. I was hoping we could be too."

That was when Kon gave the dry chuckle that the older man had been expecting to hear from the start. "I don't think Ichigo would like that."

"Ichigo _is_ very important to me but he doesn't get to decide who I choose to associate with. You are also important to me, but in a different way."

"I'm important to you?" the mod soul questioned incredulously.

"Of course. Don't be stupid. If I didn't care about you, I'd just let Ichigo trample all over you."

Kon swallowed hard and felt the sting of tears in his eyes. "Damn it," he swore quietly.

"So what caused all this trouble anyway? If nothing else, maybe talking about it will make you feel better," he offered.

"Aren't you still all…" he trailed off again, making a vague hand motion to supplement his lack of words.

"Yeah, kinda…It's mostly over but I've still got some play left in me," he gave a sly wink. "If I get too excited, though, it'll probably wake Ichigo."

That made Kon smile as he envisioned himself pouncing on the overly excitable blonde, having the renewed fluctuations in his energy awaken the soul reaper asleep upstairs, and being discovered making love to the still feverish vizard. A moment later, he started in on the events of a few days ago, finding that, though it did sting to rehash the events again so soon, it was also quite cathartic.

Shinji listened in near silence, as that was all he could manage while his gut reactions to what he was hearing were readily revealed due to his condition. By the time the story was over he was trying his best not to frown too deeply. "You give a different sort of impression of things than he did," the blonde mused.

"I'm not terribly surprised," Kon replied dryly. "I still don't think he understands why I got so upset."

Shinji gave a nod of understanding and had to break eye contact. He understood all too well what the mod soul was feeling. As far as he was concerned, Ichigo had broken one of his cardinal rules of playtime. Don't make somebody feel like shit because of what turns them on as long as they aren't hurting anybody else. "Do you still have'em?" he suddenly asked, hoping to lighten the mood. He hadn't found such a thing but the mod soul undoubtedly knew all the good hiding spots.

Kon lifted his head and looked around as though he was making sure no one was listening to them. "Yeah," he confessed. "I even fixed'em up."

"Can I see'em?" the vizard bit his lip.

"I stashed'em in his room," he replied.

"He's _sound_ asleep," the man assured.

Though he still felt somewhat apprehensive about the whole thing, Kon soon found himself rooting through the back corner of Ichigo's closet. To his surprise, the soul reaper didn't wake or even stir in the slightest. Once he found what he was looking for, which only took a matter of moments, he took a long look at the figure asleep on the bed.

Ichigo's breath came in long, even draws indicating the depth of his slumber but at the same time, he was still perspiring, if only a little, his eyes occasionally darted around, and then there was the slight bulge at his lap. It was strange to see someone so restless and so peaceful at the same time. Suddenly, the mod soul felt the urge to defame the body before him. But how?

He poked at the side of Ichigo's head rather rudely, but received no response. His brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. There weren't any permanent markers handy, unfortunately, as he could think of a great number of things he could do with that, like writing 'LOSER' on the young man's forehead and giving him a curly mustache. But he wouldn't be able to stop there and the fantasy of grafiti-ing expanded. He could write '5¥' on the soul reaper's cheek with an arrow pointing to his mouth but then he would have to roll him over so that on one of his lower cheeks he could add 'FREE' with another arrow pointed toward another orifice. Then, when he was finished with that, he wouldn't be able to resist writing 'SELFISH' on the partially erect member. If he could fit that along the underside, he'd might even be able to fit, "DO **NOT** TOUCH" along the top. Just as soon as he decided that anything more than that would be icing on the cake, he felt a presence behind him.

"What's taking so long?" Shinji quietly called from the door way, trying not to sound too concerned.

"We should make him wear'em," Kon decidedly and bitterly informed.

"Can I at least see'em first?" Shinji impatiently pulled the delicate article from the mod soul's grasp and held it up to the waning light coming through the bedroom window. He couldn't help but smile. "Were these for my body or Ichigo's?"

"I picked black so either of ya could wear'em," Kon admitted.

Shinji gave a quiet laugh as he tried to find Kon's hand-sewn seam, which only took a matter of time because the article was so small and only had so many seams. "You did a good job," he admired with a licentious grin.

"At pickin'em out or fixin'em up?" the mod soul asked incredulously.

"Why both, of course," he replied as though it would be foolish to think anything otherwise.

"I'm glad _you_ think so," Kon mused before looking back to Ichigo to glare.

"I know you wanna embarrass him by makin'em wear these but…mind if I slip'em on instead?" Shinji asked hopefully. "You know, he'll just tear'em apart again anyway, right?" Seeing the look of disbelief he received in response, he started to remove Ichigo's boxers and slipped into the little black thong. He couldn't help the little shiver that ran up his spine as it slid into place.

Kon turned and thought his eyes would fall out of his head the bugged out so hard at the sight of lithe body he desired wearing only a little piece of highly impractical lingerie.

Shinji could only smile as he felt as well as watched Kon's eyes raked over his body. It felt good to be appreciated. "You like?" he gave a quick turn.

The mod soul wiped the blood that began to run from his nose and nodded stupidly. "I think this makes up for everything," he awed.

"Damn," the blonde shifted a little. His erection was back in full force now and the notion that the panties could even conceive to contain him was laughable at best.

Kon was just about to reach out and start touching the blonde vizard when Ichigo gave a groan. Their presence combined with his rest was enough for him to wake. He rolled toward the voices until his eyes opened then he froze. He was torn between reeling back at what he saw and diving forward to separate them. "Wh-What's going on?" he asked defensively, obviously confused. "You," he turned to Kon, "You said you wouldn't try anything!" he accused even before his question could be answered.

The mod soul was clearly displeased by the tone the young man used and was about to leave but Shinji gave him a look that asked him to have patience.

"Ichi-kun," Shinji cooed as he sat down on the edge of the bed and was glad that it didn't cause his young lover to retreat. "I just found the cutest pair of panties," he began, turning a little just in case the underwear had yet to be noticed by the dazed teen.

Ichigo frowned. Leave it to Shinji to find the singular overtly kinky thing in the house. "Those're-" he began with a growl but Shinji was quick to cut him off.

"I was _hoping_ they were yours…" he dawdled, playing with the waist band a little.

"H-hoping?" Ichigo swallowed hard.

"Well, I wasn't exactly _disappointed_ when Kon mentioned they were his."

The teen had made a point of throwing them in the garbage the morning following the incident. For a brief second, he considered holding on to them but they were pretty badly torn and unlike his sister and the quincy, he was nothing close to proficient with a needle and thread. After what happened, he didn't think Kon was very likely to retrieve the item, let alone repair it. However, before he could process this and somehow turn it into an appropriate response, his boyfriend's face turned dark.

"I_ am_ disappointedyou made such a _big_ _fuss_ over a _little thing_ like this."

Kon felt his stomach sink at the blonde's sudden change in demeanor, from playful to displeased, but all he could seem to do was watch with morbid fascination to see how Ichigo would react. He could see, even from his vantage point, that the younger vizard was practically squirming.

"I-I didn't mean to…I got carried away," he tried but he knew it wasn't enough.

"What kind of person gets carried away by something so simple?" Shinji rudely mused.

"I told ya I was stupid," Ichigo grumbled and attempted to sit up only to have Shinji's firm hand push him back down. "What's the big idea?"

Shinji's brow furrowed and he had to force himself to maintain eye contact while he spoke. "Ichi-kun," he began as sweetly as he could, "What if I came to you wearing this?"

Ichigo faltered. The idea that his body would or even could wear that thing seemed outrageous at best. However, he couldn't deny that seeing his aroused lover sporting the sexy article was exciting. "I'd never turn you away," he managed.

Shinji gave a soft smile. "Of course not…but would you try to tell me there's something wrong with me?"

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" the younger vizard demanded indignantly.

"A pretty simple one, if you ask me," Shinji replied haughtily.

"Actually, yeah, there might be something wrong with you," Ichigo spat back surprising no only himself but his boyfriend and roommate as well. "Those are _women's_ underwear," he added pointedly. He felt pretty pleased with his response.

"I see," Shinji pursed his lips. "I didn't realize." He also didn't realize that he was leaning so far forward until that last comment made him sit back.

"What?" Ichigo asked indignantly, feeling that his argument was sound.

"So, let me get this straight, so to speak," he laughed a little at the irony of his own words, "I can beat the shit out of you," he motioned to Kon who was still standing frozen a few feet away for emphasis, "but I can't wear pretty things?" When Ichigo didn't immediately say anything to that, he continued, "You're right, you are pretty stupid."

"What are you trying to prove?" Ichigo finally demanded.

"Prove?" Shinji appeared thoughtful for a moment as though he was sure that his point could be summarized in a single sentence that had yet to be constructed. Of course, he gave up after a matter of moments. "I think I'll just do both at the same time and see what you do," he roughly grabbed the younger vizard by the wrist and twisted it around his back.

"Shinji-" Kon said before he even thought about speaking and it caused the pair on the bed to freeze. "Stop it. I know you wanna worry or make it better, or whatever but, just let it go…let him go," he placed a sure hand on the blonde's bare shoulder and felt him start to shake.

After that, Ichigo quickly slipped from the overly vulnerable position.

"But this isn't just about you anymore," Shinji defended before locking eyes with his boyfriend once again. "I wouldn't be able to stand it…if you ever did something like that to me."

"That's different," Ichigo tried.

"Not different enough," Shinji shook his head.

"I-…" Ichigo began but stopped just as abruptly. He gave a heavy sigh and said the only thing he knew in his heart was the truth. "I can't make any promises," he confessed. "And Kon, I know it's probably too late but I am sorry. I know that just about everything I said and did that night was wrong…I'm kinda surprised you still hang around here."

"Ichigo…" Kon barely said. Apparently, some of the inner hollow's anxiety over Kon's threat to move out had permeated other parts of the soul reaper's brain.

"I didn't think you'd care about shit like that 'cause you made fun of me for being with Urahara," Ichigo defended. "Made me feel all weird 'cause he's older than me."

"That was just so you'd consider me instead," Kon laughed a little.

Ichigo shook his head and gave a sigh of exasperation, allowing his head to fall back to the soft pillow's he'd too quickly abandoned. "So…now what?" he asked awkwardly. Shinji's erection was practically in his face already with how close they were sitting and he wanted to help take care of his boyfriend but then there was Kon. Should he try to invite him to stay? Give him the option to leave? No matter what he chose, he didn't think he'd be able to word it so he didn't sound like a jerk. That train of thought was interrupted by a wide yawn and Ichigo nearly falling back sleep. "Shinji," he carefully began.

The blonde made a sound of distracted recognition as he tried to pull the bedsheets away from his lover's lap.

"I'm beat…I'm sorry…" he nearly whined when it was revealed that he was no longer in the highly excitable state that his lover was. He'd felt it a little when he first awoke but that last exchange had been so emotionally taxing that he was done.

Shinji frowned playfully. "I could get ya goin' again," he countered as though it was a challenge.

"Kon," Ichigo was starting to mumble in his half-sleepy state.

"Hm?"

"Would you mind…?" he trailed off into another yawn.

"Sloppy seconds?" Kon asked knowingly, though not as amused as he should have been.

Shinji giggled at that in spite of himself, thinking that he was far from seconds.

"Can't finish the job yourself? Too much for ya?" Kon snapped.

Ichigo gave a sad sort of frown. "Guess not…" he said just before falling asleep.

That left Kon grinning like an idiot.

Shinji smiled as well, but his was more of an affectionate smirk than an outright grin. He leaned over and placed a kiss on the younger vizard's forehead. Then, he stood. "Come on," he motioned as he headed toward the door.

Kon followed and closed the door behind them. The house was so quiet that the click of the latch was almost deafening and it made him start just a little. This was nothing compared to the surprise of Shinji sudden wrapping his arms around him and pushing him against the wall. "Mmmph," was the only sound he could manage as his breath was knocked from him. He wasn't allowed the time to recover before there were an eager set of lips on his. As they had exited, Kon had been contemplating whether or not he should honor the teen's half-spoken request. Now it appeared he didn't have much choice. However, leave it to Shinji to surprise him yet again.

The fairer man, still clad only in the scant panties, pulled away. The motion was more violent than he'd intended but he needed the extra conviction or he wouldn't have been able to do it. "K-Kon?" he whispered, returning to the intense contact of before but this time with his face buried in the bare neck before him.

"Y-yeah?" the one occupying the teen's body stammered to reply. A few moments ago, he was trying to figure out if he could even become aroused enough to really enjoy the older man after what Ichigo's human body had been put through before he got a hold of it. However, it seemed to be responding a little more readily than he expected.

"Do you want me?" he practically hissed. He wasn't so far gone that he was unable to see the apprehension in the mod soul's features as they left his boyfriend to sleep. "Or shall I take care of myself?"

Kon swallowed hard, something that the man nuzzling and kissing the side of his throat no doubt noticed. "What do you want?" he finally responded, feeling rather sheepish at having answered one question with another.

"I just wanna get off again," he nearly growled as he ground their hips together. He almost came just from that and if Kon had been erect, he probably would have.

Whatever happened, Kon was pretty sure there were better places for it to happen than in the hallway right in front of Ichigo's bedroom door. So, after lifting the blonde's chin and initiating another heated kiss, he started to lead them to the closest place where they could figure out what to do next. This happened to be the bathroom where he sat Shinji down on the toilet and pushed one of his hands to the throbbing length testing the limits of the fragile-looking underwear. "Touch your self for me…please," he ordered and withdrew his hand.

Shinji gave a sexy little whine and did as he was told. Had he the mind to really put on a show, he would have started out a lot slower but he was already starting to ach and wasted no time in stroking out his first orgasm in, what he considered, far too long. He gave a groan as he came with weak spurts covering his hand.

Kon bit his lip and sat down on the floor across from the blonde. "Yer too sexy for yer own good," he teased.

The man pleasuring himself gave a nod of blind agreement and didn't stop. If he could focus his vision a little better, he might have realized that his desperate display was having its desired effect on his company.

Once he was settled, he wanted to touch the man again but for fear of interrupting a sight so magnificent, he didn't give as much as he could have. He made up for that by taking hold of one of Shinji's feet and using one strong thumb to rub wide circles into the sole. He knew he'd hit the right spot when there was a sharp kick followed by another round of cum.

"Oh-nngh," was all Shinji could manage at first but as that wave dipped he got a little more out, "You-…You've been hanging out with Kisu."

Kon just laughed and gave a nod of affirmation. As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter where he learned it, only that it was useful.

"Just so you know…it only works at times like this but…oh god…" he trailed off as more pressure was applied and he spilled himself again.

"I'm glad I decided to try it now then," the mod soul replied, uncaring as to whether the man in his pleasure could really hear him or not.

Shinji heard him only enough to know that he agreed that was all he needed to hear. He was almost done. "How…How sore…are you?" he suddenly asked.

"Whatcha mean?"

"I mean…I wanna finish this inside you…"

Kon carefully set the foot in his hands down. "I'll be right back. Don't you dare take your hands off your dick while I'm gone," he playfully teased, knowing there was no way the man could stop touching himself at this point. "Oh," he turned back just before exiting, "and since I won't be able to see your pretty panties, I wanna hear your beautiful voice while I'm gone instead, okay?"

Shinji nodded through a moan.

"That's right. Make sure to be good an' loud I can hear ya while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?" Shinji barely managed to ask before the other left.

"Just downstairs. I'll be right back," he assured again before leaving. He made sure not to close the door and was pleased that he could hear the object of his affection the entire time he was gone to retrieve the remainder of the lube the pair had left in the kitchen earlier that day.

As soon as Shinji saw what Kon had left him to retrieve, the mod soul quickly found himself bent over the side of the bathtub, ass sticking up in the air as cool, sticky fluid was drizzled onto his backside.

"Oh, Shinji, yes," he hissed at just the intensity of the other's vaguely preparatory affections.

"I'm sorry you're so worn already," Shinji apologized as he guided the head of his cock to the opening it desired.

"It's okay…I think I kinda like it…" he confessed before his breath hitched as he was entered, one decisive thrust cutting off any extra words he might have had.

The half-exhausted, half-fervent blonde gave a protective growl and pulled the body below him up so that they were both resting on their knees, Kon bracing himself on the side of the tub. "You're amazing…" he huskily whispered.

Kon wanted to say something equally affectionate back but he was lost in the wave of raietsu that was crashing over him. He wasn't even totally erect but orgasm hit him just the same, spilling the few bits of cum Ichigo's body had left. "Shinji," he mewled and felt the body behind him buckle.

As Shinji's last wave ebbed, he fell backward and into unconsciousness. The mod soul he'd been riding barely caught himself as he was pulled along, somehow managing to turn around before losing consciousness as well.


	36. Heal You

None of them stirred until later that evening and it wasn't a surprise when Ichigo happened to be the first to wake. With a stretch and a groan, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed. His entire being ached but he had to take stock of the silence that now filled his home.

It didn't take long to find the other two. The hand hanging out into the hallway and the bathroom light gave them away pretty readily. In spite of himself and because no one was watching, he smiled at the sight of the two unconscious bodies tangled together. He still felt a pang of disappointment and guilt and not being able to finish Shinji off but after everything that happened it felt right enough that he wasn't going to argue.

He was about to look for something to cover them when he heard a noise from downstairs. It gave him such a start that he immediately went to go see what it was. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he saw Hiyori sitting at his kitchen table picking at the last few pieces of pizza. "Ack! What are you doing here?" he demanded.

She looked up, an evil smirk spreading across her features. Then, she laughed at him and threw his long discarded pajama pants at him. Having spent the majority of the day nude, he didn't realize that he was still and blushed furiously as he scrambled to get his pants on, which to Hiyori was even more amusing than the fact that Ichigo forgot he was naked.

"Why the hell are you here?" he tried again once he was partially clothed.

That's when she did something that really disturbed him; she appeared very thoughtful for a moment. "They sent me for Shinji," she told him, purposefully being vague to see if her old comrade had decided to continue leaving his partner in the dark.

Ichigo scoffed. "What're _you_ supposed to do for'em?" he asked incredulously.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment while she briefly considered decking the young man. Something in her decided against it. "I _was_ suppos'ta bring'em back," she replied.

"And?" Ichigo couldn't help taking up a slightly defensive posture. There was no way he would have let her take him now or before.

"I decided not to," she replied simply as she picked up another piece of cold pizza.

Ichigo felt both relief and confusion at that. "Why?"

"Are you arguin'?" Now it was her turn to be defensive.

"No! I just…Why are you _still_ here then?" He didn't want to push her out, exactly, but if she wasn't here to take Shinji away then why stay?

"They'll be mad that I didn't come back with him…They're probably already mad…" she grumbled.

Ichigo gave a sigh and sat down at the table. There were two pieces of pizza left so he grabbed one. He wasn't exactly hungry but he needed something to do while he collected his thoughts. "Thanks," he said between bits.

She frowned. In her heart, she knew she did the right thing by letting them ride it out together. At least Shinji would keep her company while the others gave her the cold shoulder. "Whatever," she snatched up the last piece.

As he was nibbling on his crust, Ichigo finally broke the silence once again. "Er, look, Hiyori…I'm not complaining or anything…."

"Just spit it out, dickhead," she ordered with a mouthful of food.

"I'm not complaining or anything but why did you let us go…if you weren't supposed to an' all," he blurted out.

She turned away and almost left. "You lasted almost as long as he did," she informed.

"So?"

She laughed a little because she wasn't sure how to tell him that she was impressed. She knew Ichigo had _a lot_ of raietsu but she wasn't the only one who doubted his capacity to fulfill the blonde vizard's appetite. "You're the first one in a long time who's been able to do that."

Ichigo gave a cocky smirk but it quickly faded. "I didn't do it by myself," he admitted.

Hiyori gave him a suspicious look and attempted to sense the other, frowning when she felt no one else close enough to have done the job. "Who?"

"Kon," he admitted. That earned him an incredulous look. "What?"

"He's undetectable, you idiot."

"So?"

"So Shinji was just leaching the rest of your energy out of your body, duh," she smacked him on the forehead with her sandal.

That made Ichigo's smile return. "How long are you gunna hang out then?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't wanna go back without him. I have to at least do that," she grumbled and started looking for something to drink.

"Why? We're done," he dismissed.

"I can't come back empty handed," she sneered and pulled out a half-full bottle of cola.

"Why'd they send _you_ here anyway?"

"Don't be such an idiot," she scolded just before taking a swig straight from the bottle. When he started to complain about that, she interrupted, "I can't get sucked in. With both of ya goin'…" she trailed off to take another drink.

He gave an exasperated sigh and hoped she wouldn't try to put the bottle back. "So now what?" It was starting to get late and he just wanted to go to bed.

The tiny blond scrunched up her nose in frustration. "He's gunna be out for the rest of the night at least. I'm gunna crash on your couch," she informed.

He disliked her intrusion but decided that he was happier to deal with it now than he would have been any earlier than now. "My sisters are out of town. You can sleep in their room if you want," he offered and when she still appeared reluctant, he added, "I think Yuzu just changed the sheets too."

She chugged the remainder of the soda and left the empty bottle on the kitchen table. "Lead the way," she ordered and he was too tired to protest.

When they reached the bathroom where Kon and Shinji were still very much passed out, she had Ichigo take back his human body and clean them up while she healed Shinji. He was glad that she didn't say anything about the panties except, "Get this stupid thing off'em."

Once the older man was tucked beneath Ichigo's bed sheets, he turned to Hiyori expectantly but she just turned and headed for the bed she was promised.

"Hey!" he called in a hushed whisper. "What about me?"

"I ain't wastin' my kido on you," she nearly slammed his door when she left, and only really denied him because she knew Shinji would want to do what he could first.

With another sigh of exasperation and exhaustion, Ichigo snatched up Kon and crawled into bed with his boyfriend. He laughed a little as he drifted to sleep, remembering that he often thought his twin sized bed was almost too small for just him and thinking that it was just about the right size for two.

* * *

This time, thanks to Hiyori's healing, Shinji was the first to wake and once he regained his bearings, he began to heal his boyfriend. Normally, Shinji didn't tend to use his healing kido. He was proficient and more than capable of saving a person's life but it was almost always easier to simply take them to Hachi rather than waste his time and energy. However, this was one person that he could waste all his time and energy on and still feel compelled to give him more. This compulsion unnerved him almost as much as it made him giddy and his expression told of this when Ichigo awoke about halfway through the process.

"Mmmm…" Ichigo knew before he opened his eyes that the hands sending a healing tingle through his worn body were those of his boyfriend but seeing the affectionate smile plastered across his face still made his heart flutter. "Thank you." He decided to give the man a break by pulling him into a tight embrace. As he nuzzled the blonde's neck, he added, "For everything."

Shinji couldn't formulate a proper response without letting on how deeply those simple words had struck him so he gave the next best thing. He lifted Ichigo's chin and started kissing everything he could reach until he got to the young man's lips where he stayed for as long as he was allowed.

His affectionate attacker was practically on top of him when Ichigo had to turn his head and break the kiss in order to catch his breath. "Shinji…" he began in an awestruck voice but that was as far as he got.

"Ichigo…I really think I love you," the fair man barely spoke and not just because their faces were millimeters apart. They had exchanged that particular pleasantry once before but this time the affection was less playful and clearly more heartfelt.

If Ichigo thought his heart was fluttery before, hearing that made him feel like it would outright stop and it was his turn to have trouble with his words.

Had Shinji been younger, he might have been put off by the look the orange-haired teen gave him in response. However, his experience told him that the stunned speechlessness wasn't necessarily bad. He knew one test, and was barely able to keep himself from smiling when he pressed his sure lips against the younger vizard's nearly trembling ones.

Ichigo melted into the second kiss as he felt a wave of emotions wash over him. The washing quickly turned to crashing when Shinji's hands, which had been caressing whichever parts of his lover they could get to, moved with more direction and toward his member. Sure and loving strokes brought him to nearly his full length before the kiss broke again. "Shinji…" he began again but this time was cut off.

"Make love to me…please."

The younger vizard brought one hand up to run his fingers through the blonde hair he loved so much. He stalled for a moment to look into Shinji face and really take in his expression. The vulnerability in Shinji's tone had made him second guess the notion that the blonde's episode was over but on closer inspection, he saw need but it wasn't the same kind of desperate and mindless need that he associated with the condition.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Shinji was also second guessing himself.

"No one outside of my family has ever told me they loved me before," he replied sheepishly, feeling a blush of both arousal and embarrassment rise to his cheeks.

"I mean it," he replied with resolute impishness.

"I know." Ichigo, even in his youth, realized the level of sincerity in the man's voice. Regardless of whether the feelings were real or not, it was clear that Shinji didn't doubt them. "I-I love you too…I think," he bit his lip as he smiled upward.

That was all Shinji needed to hear. He tightened their embrace once again and rolled them over. He enjoyed being beneath his boyfriend as much as his boyfriend enjoyed being on top of him. Once like that, they spent quite some time simply kissing and caressing. This was the first time they had gotten to explore one another in such a way and they were both intent on making up for lost time.

After a while, though, Shinji began to wonder if his plea for physical love making was going to go ignored. He couldn't bring himself to ask a second time. Luckily, he didn't have to. His patience was eventually rewarded when he felt Ichigo groping blindly for the opening just below his balls.

The teen on top started guiding the head of his cock, which he assumed was only capable of erection because of his lover's healing kido, toward the opening without really thinking about it. The only thing in his mind was the echo of Shinji's thought to be ignored plea.

He didn't need preparation; all of yesterday took care of any need for that. He simply wrapped his legs around Ichigo's waist, making it easier for both of them. When the eager length slowly slid inside him, a guttural moan poured from him as he arched his back.

Moving with his lover's instinctive motions, Ichigo slipped a sure hand behind the blonde and placed it on the small of his back. His other hand went to rest to the side of Shinji's head for balance and leverage.

"Oh, god…Ichi-, yes!" Shinji breathlessly raved, wrapping his arms around the younger vizard's neck and bucking back with matched enthusiasm.

Ichigo groaned in response as it was all he could manage at the moment. He was too caught up in the heat of not only their friction but also in the sound of his boyfriend's voice and the feelings welling up within him. Instead, he found himself searching the face beneath him for signs that he wasn't the only one feeling such deep emotions. The sparkle in Shinji's eyes told him that he wasn't but he wasn't allowed to observe it for long because less than a handful of thrusts later, Shinji cried out, legs coming unwrapped to push back even harder.

The blonde involuntarily shut his eyes tightly as he threw his head back, "Yes! That's it, right there…" He kept one leg hitched around Ichigo's back while the other planted a foot on the mattress for more leverage.

Ichigo just smiled and did his best. With Shinji helping him, all he needed to do was keep going, keep pushing them toward the impending peak.

By this time they were so far gone that they no longer heard the creaking of the bed or the banging of the headboard on the wall. However, for the two within earshot, the mod soul who had snuck back to his hiding place in Ichigo's closet during the night and the younger female vizard in one of the adjacent rooms, those sounds only served to punctuate the now near constant vocal appreciations the loving pair didn't care to hold back. They both covered their ears and tried to block it out, hoping it wouldn't last for too long. Shinji and Ichigo on the other hand, found themselves wishing quite the opposite.

To compensate for not holding his young lover as tightly with his lower body, Shinji wrapped his arms even more tightly around his neck and shoulders. He loved the feeling of their sweat-slickened bodies rhythmically sliding together, the scorching heat the radiated from their bodies, and the way it felt like they were gasping for the last bits of oxygen left in the world. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was planting fervent kisses on every bit of Ichigo that he could reach, most his face and neck, landing on his lips for a kiss that deepened as he came.

Shinji's release and the immensity of the emotions he was feeling had Ichigo crashing into orgasm shortly after, groaning something similar to his lovers name as he spilled himself inside. After that, his leverage and balance faltered, leaving him to lay on his lover, who didn't seem to mind. Actually, he was obviously concerned with more than being squished by the slightly larger built vizard.

When he felt the sting of tears in his eyes, he quickly shut them even though that meant abandoning the loving smile beaming down at him, and started to laugh a foolish little laugh.

If the laughing wasn't bad enough, Ichigo thought he might be sick when he saw the first couple tears stream from the corners of his closed eyes. "What's wrong?"

That made Shinji laugh just that much harder but it did allow him to open his eyes once again, allowing his tears to flow freely. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong," he replied with a chuckle.

"Then what's with the water works?" The teen tried to sound playful and was reasonably successful.

"It's been a _long_ time since I've loved anybody," he admitted.

Ichigo's gentle smile returned and he kissed away his boyfriend's tears. "Come on, I'll make breakfast."

Suddenly a voice called from outside the room, "You're way past breakfast!" Hiyori called and knew her attempt to embarrass them was a success when she heard them start to scramble about.

A moment later, Shinji opened the door. "Why are you still here?" he demanded.

She sneered and hit him with her shoe, "'Cause I'm not goin' back empty handed, ya sappy dickface!"

Shinji pushed past the younger blonde and wordlessly entered the bathroom.

"I can't believe you were listening to us," Ichigo told her, his voice speaking volumes of disgust and embarrassment.

"It was kinda hard not to. _Oh, Shinji! Oh, Ichi!_" she mocked. "So you still gunna make breakfast?" she diverted before he could get too mad.

"Sure, I guess," he agreed.

* * *

Once they were finished, he stacked the dishes in the sink to deal with later and they said their good byes.

Hiyori made a pukey face during their good-bye kiss but surprisingly, it only ruined the moment a little.

About fifteen minutes after they left, Ichigo received a text message. It was from Hiyori and it said: if u dont call him in the next couple days I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!!!!!


	37. Tense Week

no smut warning....

* * *

Ichigo did call Shinji the next day and they made plans for the following weekend. With that out of the way, the teen figured that he would have to wait for Saturday to see his lover again. Needless to say, he was surprised when Shinji was waiting for him after school on Monday.

* * *

"Hey, what're you doin' here?" Ichigo asked with mild suspicion. He was glad to see his boyfriend but he still associated anyone from the soul society at his school with apprehension.

"Nothin'," the blonde shrugged and looked around and seeing that the teen's friends were nearby, he decided to forego anything more affectionate for a later time. "Walk ya home?" he asked with quiet hopefulness.

Ichigo gave an equally quiet sound of affirmation before saying good bye to his friends, the more perceptive of which noticed that the pair were walking a little closer than usual.

* * *

The following day, Shinji couldn't wait until after school hours to see his boyfriend. For Tuesday, he joined him for lunch. Just before the lunch bell, he gave a flair of raietsu to signal his waiting on the roof. It was received, but not only by the intended recipient. Though he should have expected as much, Ichigo wasn't the only one to find him.

"Hakaro-san," Orihime greeted with her usual warmth. "What bring you here?"

The older vizard fought his instinct to wrap an arm around her as he had done in the past. "Oh, things were getting' boring so I just thought I'd have lunch with you guys for a change," he lied.

No one thought anything of that until he sat next to Ichigo, so close that they were practically touching, but not quite, and even then, no one said anything about it.

Ichigo on the other hand was much more inclined to take notice of his lover's minute advances and they were starting to make him nervous, so much so that he found himself fighting not to lean away for fear that would give even more away in addition to putting off his love. Though, once their meal was over, he did breath a sigh of relief that the affections didn't go any further than that. He kept wondering if Shinji was up to something but it he made no sort of move so he didn't question it.

Shinji bid Ichigo and his friends adieu when the next class bell rang leaving the group of teens to contemplate the interactions of the two vizard on their own, giving them more to contemplate by once again picking the young man up outside the schoolyard.

* * *

By this point, a few of the high schoolers were starting to get an inkling of the spark between the pair but it wasn't until the following day that someone said something about it and much to Ichigo's dismay, it was Uryu.

Normally, the quincy couldn't care less about the relationships of soul reapers but when he accidentally caught a glimpse of the bite mark of the orange-haired young man's backside one afternoon while they were changing in the locker room, he couldn't help staring at it, if only for a moment.

"What're you lookin' at?" Ichigo griped.

"Kurosaki, what's that?" he asked, motioning to the mark so that he wouldn't be accused of anything more indecent than a passing glance where the perfectly straight teeth marks caught his attention.

Ichigo blushed furiously and dressed as quickly as possible, unable to dignify the question with a better response than that. He'd forgotten about the love-bite on his ass except for when he'd examined himself in the mirror the day after the incident to find that Shinji had conveniently forgotten to heal that particular mark.

Uryu cocked a curious brow but let it go at that; he felt no place to intrude further since he'd only said something to divert attention away from himself.

Later that day, as Shinji was leading Ichigo away from the school, Uryu heard a voice behind him muse something strikingly similar to what he was thinking.

"Hakaro-san has sure been hanging around a lot lately." It was Orihime.

The quincy turned to his classmate, "You mean he's been hanging around Kurosaki a lot lately," he corrected.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I wonder why…" she trailed off to observe the pair as they retreated from view.

Her spectacled classmate wasn't sure what to say to that and so simply shrugged and made his good-byes for the day.

* * *

Thursday morning, Ichigo found himself greeted by his blonde boyfriend on his walk to school. "Yo, Ichigo!" he called from across the street when he was about halfway there.

"Yo. What's up?" he carefully crossed when he got the chance.

"I just wanted to see you, that's all," he shrugged as though it was nothing.

Ichigo gave a sheepish grin but it quickly faltered.

"What's the matter?" he asked as quickly as the grin fell.

Orange brows furrowed as he thought of the best way to broach the subject on his mind. "Nothin' really. It's just…you've been visiting me at school a lot his week. I think some of my friends are starting to suspect something."

"Well, if they're your friends, you should be glad they're that perceptive," Shinji reasoned, making a small mental note that he might be pestering the other vizard a bit much.

That didn't make Ichigo feel any better but he didn't know how to continue without putting his foot in his mouth. This left him contemplating a nice way to ask Shinji to not visit him _as often_ for the rest of his walk. He was so caught up in that train of thought that he didn't really notice when Shinji led him around the back of the school until they were already there.

Once they were alone, Shinji took Ichigo by the wrist and pulled him close while leaning back against a wall.

"Shinji, look-," he tried to defer but was interrupted.

"Just a quick kiss," he whispered, gently pulling the other closer. "To make up for the first time you pinned me here," he coaxed.

Only then did Ichigo realize where Shinji had led him, to the place where he had dragged the older vizard to interrogate him about invading his school during his first appearance there. He gave a hesitant look around and finding no one, gave in and let the older man steal his much desired kiss.

"Thank you," Shinji smiled. "Come see me later…if you have time, okay?"

Ichigo barely nodded before his boyfriend was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned his back against the wall. The moment had been short and sweet but he was glad it was over, the tension of being seen had nearly ruined it for him and he was very glad that no one had happened along to interrupt it.

Unfortunately for him, however, though no one had seen fit to intrude on their personal moment, someone had caught a fair portion of the show and was now inclined to say something about it.

"Kurosaki," a steady voice greeted.

Ichigo visibly started both at the voice and the sight of his quincy classmate and comrade. "Ishida…what's up?"

"Was that Hakaro-san again?" he asked knowingly.

"Since when do you care?" the soul reaper immediately went on the defensive.

"I just didn't know you two were on kissing terms, that's all," he casually informed.

Ichigo felt his stomach turn as a hot blush rose to his cheeks. "What're you followin' me or somethin'?" he demanded, obviously flustered.

"No, I just happened to be coming this way when I saw you two," he haughtily replied. Briefly, he considered asking if the blonde vizard was the mysterious ass-biter but decided against it and simply assumed that Ichigo didn't have it in him to be that promiscuous. "Look, not that it's any of my business," he began.

"Damn straight, it ain't any'a yer business," Ichigo's blush deepened a few shades as he gave a defensive sneer, daring the other to push it any more than he already had while praying desperately that the other would simply leave.

"But if you're gunna be like that about it, you should know that I'm not the only one who's noticed there's something going on between you two," he warned, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. He didn't wait for a response before turning and walking away.

"Fuck," Ichigo grumbled, smacking his head against the wall behind him. He did it again when the first bell rang a matter of seconds later, not allowing him the chance to think through what he wanted to do before having to try to pay attention to things he had difficulty paying attention to on a good day.

By lunch he'd determined that he had two options. The first was to keep trying to think of a way to ask Shinji to cool it. The second was mentally preparing himself for the inevitable embarrassment of being outted at school. The more he thought about it, he more he realized that he would most likely have to do both. Luckily, at the very least, Ishida didn't see fit to say anything to anyone else and Shinji somehow managed not to show up during the meal. At times, it even seemed that simply thinking about making some sort of comment, an ambiguous jab, made his classmate fumble his words or trip over his own feet.

While changing for gym, Ichigo changed as quickly and discretely as he could so as to not risk someone else seeing the mark on his backside. Ishida thought all of this was rather amusing, but only in as much as it made the soul reaper extremely self-conscious and all the more prone to bouts of inexplicable embarrassment.

* * *

After an entire day of this, Ishida took pity on Ichigo and once he was sure Shinji wasn't going to show up to take him away, he approached the orange-haired soul reaper as he was leaving the school yard.

"Kurosaki," the quincy called once he was a few paces behind his classmate.

Ichigo tensed visibly and didn't immediately turn to face the other.

Uryu took the other young man's not running away as an invitation to continue. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"'Bout what?" the soul reaper snapped.

"I think you know," he pressed even though the fact that they had yet to make eye contact was making him start to second-guess himself.

Ichigo looked around and then finally at the person standing next to him. "What is it?" he asked, obviously exasperated at having been put on the spot twice in one day.

The quincy made a vague motion for them to keep walking which was readily accepted. "I just wanted to assure you…I'm not planning on saying anything to anybody."

"So reassuring," Ichigo grumbled. "But thanks, I guess."

"Well, I could try to blackmail you," he teasingly proposed. "You seem embarrassed enough about it that it might work," he mused and received a look that made him wonder if his school uniform was flame retardant. "I'm joking."

The soul reaper rolled his eyes and gave another disgusted grumble.

"Does he know you're so embarrassed about it? Or are you lying to him and trying to make him think you don't care?" Uryu pressed.

Ichigo shook his head. "Ain't none of your business," he resolutely replied.

That made the quincy's school expression falter to a frown of disappointment for a moment.

"What?"

"I just thought you'd wanna talk about it. You've been worried about it all day," he pointed out.

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "Who else…is figurin' it out?" he tried.

Uryu thought for a moment and tried not to smile. "Aizawa…Orihime…me…as far as I can tell."

The orange-haired teen pursed his lips. He wasn't terribly surprised by the list.

"But I don't think it'll be long before Tatsuke or Chad or even Keigo notices, if you keep up the way you are," he warned.

That make him frown a little, but wasn't any more than his usual scowl. "I just…don't know what to do…" he finally confessed, at least a portion of him glad for a somewhat sympathetic ear. "I don't what this to be a big deal…it's really _not_ a big deal…but when I think about it, I get-" he suddenly stopped, mid-sentence. He didn't want to continue; he felt too exposed already so he distracted himself with the crosswalk signaler.

The quincy gave an empathetic sigh. "But they're your friends. They'll make a big deal out of it no matter who it is," he reminded.

"I know…" he trailed off in to a resigned little chuckle. "I should just man-up and tell'em to cool it…or practice my right hook on the first person who says something stupid; that oughtta do the trick." He rolled and stretched his right shoulder for emphasis.

That made Uryu laugh. "That sounds more like you."

Ichigo gave his classmate a playful shove as he laughed with him. "I can't believe you're the one makin' me feel better about this."

"Stranger things have happened," the quincy vaguely replied. "Honestly…you surprise me."

"How's that?" he cocked an orange brow.

"You mean besides being gay?" he teased. "I just didn't think you cared that much about what we thought about you."

"Well, like ya said. You're my friends," he shrugged.

Uryu smiled and gave an affectionate nod but before he could reply they were at Ichigo's house.

Ichigo considered telling his newfound confidant that his family was actually very aware of his relationship with Shinji, at least on the personal level but before he could, a basketball flew at his head.

"Kurosaki, look out!" he tried to warn but it was largely unnecessary.

Ichigo caught the ball millimeters from his face. "Ya crazy old man! What the hell was that?" he orange-haired teen demanded of his father, who happened to be playing basketball in the driveway with the girls.

Uryu blinked stupidly at the interaction for a moment. He knew the soul reaper's home life was chaotic but first hand experience is something different.

"Just makin' sure you're payin' attention," the father offered, barely dodging the ball that his son returned in kind.

A few moments of harmless bickering later, Karin interrupted, doing so by speaking to her brother's companion. "What's your name?"

"Oh, honey," Ishin immediately changed gears, "you don't remember Uryu, do you?"

Uryu blinked uncomprehendingly, apparently he didn't really remember her either.

"You're Ryuukin's boy, right?" the father surmised. "I haven't seen you, oh-since you were probably," he motioned to a height around his knees.

"You know my dad?"

"From way back," he dismissed. "I guess you girls were a little too young to remember back then," he mused.

"I don't remember that," Ichigo dismissed.

Ishin didn't want to tell his son or his friend that their not remembering was as much because the few times the pair had met as children were around the times when their mothers died as it was due to their ages. "Well, you boys were pretty little then too…" he mused with marked nostalgia.

"Whatever," Ichigo dismissed. "You wanna come in?" he turned to his classmate.

"Ah, no thanks. I gotta get home," Uryu politely took his leave before he could be drawn into any more strange discussions of the past. "See ya tomorrow."

After the girls went inside and the other young man was gone, Ishin turned to his son. "So, do I have to ask you to keep your door open when he's around too?" he asked, trying to keep his tone chidingly playful.

"Damn it Dad!" he blushed furiously. "He's just a friend from school." With that, he was retreating to his room.

"Just checkin'," Ishin called innocently after him and when his son emerged a little less than an hour later and headed for the front door, he had to say something. "Where ya goin?"

Ichigo tensed for a moment but it quickly faded. "I'm gunna go see Shinji for a bit. Is that cool?" he asked carefully.

"Gunna be home for dinner?" the father asked with a mixture of command and hopefulness.

"Yeah."

"See ya later then," he waved the young man off without further incident.

* * *

"You here for Shinji?" Lisa didn't bother to say hi before starting in on him.

Ichigo frowned but tried not to let her get to him. "Yeah. Is he around?" he asked hopefully.

His hopefulness was well received and with a gleam in her eyes, she led the youngest of their clan to one of the oldest. "I think he was hopin' you'd stop by," she mentioned off-handedly.

"He asked me to stop by," he replied.

She nodded thoughtfully but didn't reveal her thoughts any more than that before they caught sight of the blonde in question.

"Ichigo!" Shinji giddily greeted, practically running up to catch his lover in an impossibly warm embrace. Even though the school day was only just over, he was beginning to doubt whether or not his invitation would be accepted.

The teen gave an affectionate chuckle and accepted the embrace. He'd been expecting something but not quite so much and he was almost unsure how to reciprocate other than simply returning the actions, hoping that would be enough. Luckily, it seemed to be plenty and when he was released a moment later, his lover was beaming at him.

Lisa stayed for a moment to observe, to gawk, at the pair before being shooed away.

"I'm so glad you came," the older vizard didn't want to leave any room for doubt as to how much he appreciate the company.

"No problem. Did ya need anything? Or you just wanna hang out?" he offered.

Shinji gave an gentle smile at the thoughtfulness. "Just hang out…just spend time together…" he trailed off.

Ichigo smiled in return, feeling a warmth welling up in him at the man's honesty toward him. Another few minutes later, they were sitting at a card table with a couple of sodas and Shinji was dealing two cards to each of them.

"Look, Ichigo…I know I bothered you a lot this week, especially at school," Shinji finally apologized after a couple rounds of black jack.

Ichigo tensed for a moment and again let it ebb. "It's okay… I guess…" he trailed off as he shuffled.

"I…" Shinji pursed his lips, making it painfully apparent that he had something he wanted to say but he was having trouble getting it out.

"You what?" Ichigo prompted.

"I can't help it. I think I almost went crazy having to wait all day to see you today," he gave a nervous laugh as his cards were dealt, five. Apparently, they were playing poker now, not that he cared. They could have been playing Go Fish! for all he cared.

The confession made Ichigo frown.

"But I don't want you to feel like you have to be here," the blonde continued.

"Why are you bein' so weird?" Ichigo finally asked, though he had a pretty good idea already, and mostly because he was surprised that he wasn't the one acting overly strange.

Shinji averted his gaze for a moment, pretended to study his cards. "You know why," he curtly replied after a moment of thought.

The teen pursed his lips and made a very similar move by looking down at his hand. "Sorry…I just wanna be sure."

Shinji shrugged. The presence of his lover was soothing him considerably and since he had sensed the younger man's apprehension earlier that day and done his best to let him be because of it, he needed a little soothing.

"And about buggin' me at school," the orange-haired vizard finally broached.

"I'm really sorry about that. It was outta line. I won't bug ya there anymore unless it's really important," Shinji tried to circumvent.

"It's fine, just not _as often_, okay?" he bargained, his stomach flip-flopping.

"Naw," Shinji tried to dismiss. If he got an open invitation, he knew he was likely to abuse it. "An' like ya said earlier, some of 'em might be startin' to notice." He tried to be sympathetic to the delicacy of adolescence now because he demanded so much of Ichigo the rest of the time.

"Actually…someone already knows," the teen blushed a little.

"I'm sorry. Who?" the blonde blinked.

"Ishida…he saw us earlier," he elaborated. "And don't be sorry. He was pretty cool about it."

"The quincy? I guess I'm not _that_ surprised."

"Why's that?"

Shinji cocked an eye brow. "He doesn't strike you as a little…" he trailed off for a moment, "queer?" he carefully finished.

Ichigo thought for a moment. The idea had crossed his mind, but not in quite some time.

"But probably only a little more than you," he mused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That one day, you'll find a nice lady and she'll sweep you off your feet and you'll make hundreds of babies together. But until then…until then, it's just boys, boys, boys," the blonde teased lightheartedly.

Ichigo shifted a little, uncomfortable with the notion of future serious relationship while he was still getting the handle on his present situation. "So you think he's…" he motioned vaguely, not having considered that the quincy might need a confidant as badly as he did until now.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm only guessin'. You could always just ask'em," Shinji suggested with a cheeky smile.

Ichigo wrinkled his nose at the awkwardness of the idea, making Shinji laugh, and their conversation turned lighter from there. The teen took his leave a little over an hour later, when his growling stomach told him that it was time for dinner.

"Thanks for stopping by," Shinji gave him a quick peck on the cheek as they headed for the ramp.

"No problem. We still on for Saturday?" he asked hopefully.

Shinji smiled; the same question had just been on the tip of his tongue. "As long as you're still up for it."

"Pick me up at the house this time. I think my dad wants to see you again," Ichigo advised carefully.

Shinji nodded, hiding his mild reluctance behind his eagerness to have another romantic adventure with his young lover. "Can I visit you tomorrow sometime?" he asked hopefully.

"Walk me to school?" he proposed, hoping to limit his chances of having his boyfriend around during lunchtime, when his attentions tended to become more overt.

The older vizard nodded and closed the gap between them, snaking his arms around the younger's neck and drawing him in to a kiss. Feeling that he'd behaved himself enough for one day, he wasted no time in nipping at his lover's lips until they parted, allowing their tongues to mingle freely. He moaned into their embrace and when Ichigo held him tight, his knees gave ever so slightly. When that little rush subsided, he reluctantly pulled away, skin flushed and panting lightly for breath.

"Shinji…" Ichigo wasn't sure what to say, he felt a little overwhelmed but the look he was receiving made a little spark of excitement dance up and down his spine.

The blonde gave a nervous laugh and withdrew completely.

"Where are you goin'?" Ichigo accused playfully, unwilling to let the other get away so quickly after a such an intimate embrace.

Shinji's nervous smile turned to one of genuine warmth and affection. "One short moment of abandon is about all I can handle right now," he confessed before playfully adding, " or I might get carried away."

"Okay, save it for Saturday then," the young man suggested. He was about to leave when the slight sparkle of his lover's eyes caught his attention. Without thinking, he took the blonde's chin in his grasp and stole a kiss of his own before taking off.


	38. Tenser Week

On Monday, Shinji thought he'd done a pretty good job at waiting for Ichigo. He even fought the urge to stand where he could see the front door of the school so that he would know the moment the teen exited.

Having been received rather well by his young lover, he couldn't help stopping by for lunch the following day. Luckily, Ichigo didn't seem to realize that the reason he was there was as much to alleviate his own attraction to the teen as it was to escape the attraction of another.

None of them realized what kind of dynamic they were creating while they were creating it. As stated, Ichigo had yet to realize it, while it only started to dawn on Shinji Monday afternoon and his realization coalesced during the evening and morning that followed. Kensai seemed to make a special point of eating dinner with him and though he hardly said a word, it was pretty clear that he had a lot on his mind. He wasn't going to say anything about it but when Kensai crawled into his bed in the middle of the night, he couldn't just let it go.

With an indignant grumble, mostly from having been awakened at such an awful hour, he rolled over to find that his comrade had been sleep walking. With another grumble, he rolled his eyes, "Oi, Kensai," he nudged the sleepy form slowly easing closer to his own.

The provocation went wholly unrecognized.

Shinji frowned deeply. He'd done things like this before and usually he would've just went back to sleep, enjoying the warmth and comfort of another but this time it was different. The mindless affection made his stomach sink with guilt and a longing for someone else. "Kensai," he said even louder, shaking the man's strong shoulder.

This time the white-haired man grumbled, cracked an eye, and then squinted incredulously at what he saw. "Shinji? Why are you in my bed?"

Shinji rolled his eyes again. "You're in my bed, you idiot."

Kensai shot up and looked around, finding that was in fact the case. He frowned deeply as the reality of his actions hit him. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly and pulled himself from the warm bed with obvious reluctance.

The look that Kensai gave him as he withdrew told him that the larger man was hoping for some sort of invitation to stay but thought better of asking.

"Look, Kensai, I-" Shinji began but immediately received a dismissive motion in response as the man left.

He hardly slept the rest of the night, torn between his loyalties. On the one hand, he wanted to comfort his comrade but the guilt that struck him at even the thought of what Ichigo would no doubt feel was some form of indiscretion. The looks of niggling shame that Kensai gave him over breakfast didn't help either and he left the warehouse before finishing his eggs.

Having lunch with his boyfriend was a nice diversion and good way to easy some of his ill feelings about his sympathy for Kensai. He hadn't meant to sit so close to Ichigo as they ate but didn't realize he was as close as he was until it was already done and he couldn't bring himself to move away. Luckily, though it clearly made Ichigo nervous to be that close, he didn't see fit to move either.

Shinji didn't return to the warehouse until it was time for dinner. This time, Kensai attempted to avoid him, knowing that his previous indulgence was what led to the embarrassing slip the night before. Shinji let it go and hoped for the best. His hopes were dashed that night when the larger vizard sleepily slipped beneath his sheets once again.

The blonde gave an exasperated sigh when he felt a familiar arm snake around his waist and try to pull him close. There was so much of him that wanted to yield, knowing that the affection wasn't real, only a side-effect of the addiction that Kensai was recovering from. If it weren't for his relationship with Ichigo, he wouldn't hesitate to lean back into the strong embrace and enjoy it for as long as it lasted. With another sigh, he rolled over and pulled the arm, heavy with sleep, off his hips.

"Kensai," he rudely shook the man, who gave a rather pitiful whine before opening his eyes.

"Damn it!" he cursed into the blonde's pillows.

"It's okay," he placed an understanding hand between the other man's broad shoulders. Just because he wouldn't let him stay didn't mean he wouldn't be understanding.

However, the affection was ill-received. Kensai jerked away and withdrew from the bed.

"Kens-" he tried but was again dismissed. This time his comrade couldn't even make eye contact during his exit, which was much faster than expected.

* * *

When Wednesday dawned, Shinji was already gone. He spent the majority of the day by himself, save walking his young lover home from school, in attempt to help straighten out his feelings as well as allow Kensai time to deal with his own issues. However, this left him with the irresistible urge to see him as soon as possible the following morning, meeting him along his walk to school.

When Ichigo made a point of pointing out that he had been frequenting the teen's school life a bit much in the last few days, it made him falter. For a split second, a part of him said he should just give in to Kensai to help alleviate his attraction to the teen and he wondered what Ichigo would say about something like that. He knew the young man well enough to know that the compassion of the situation would most likely quell any sort of angry or jealous arguments he could invent but even the fact that those negative emotions could be there made him unsure.

Feeling that he'd overstepped his bounds, if only just a bit, with his boyfriend, he decided to leave the open invitation for that evening instead of making sure they saw one another after the school day. It was as much a test as it was an invitation, and not just for Ichigo. Shinji was testing himself to see if he could wait for Ichigo to come to him. He was also testing Kensai's reaction to the teen (and them as a couple), if he did decide to show up.

He was more than giddy Ichigo did see fit to stop by, his giddiness only quelled by Kensai's lurking. It was a little unnerving at first but when he realized that it wasn't going to stop, he tried to ignore it. He knew Kensai was only doing it so that he could keep himself from approaching them, as simply occasionally watching them talk, and flirt, and play cards was bad enough.

* * *

"You can come out now. He's gone," Shinji announced without looking to see where his comrade would emerge from.

Kensai was glad for that because he was going to try to slip away without being called out further but as soon as Shinji heard footsteps moving away from him, he tried again. "Kensai, please at least talk to me."

Kensai didn't want to talk. Shinji's silver tongue and dirty jokes drove him nuts but he turned back anyway, feeling a certain obligation to do so. "I'm sorry if I was bothering you. You shoulda said something if-" he was cut off.

"It doesn't bother me," Shinji was quick to correct, "that you've been hanging around and I don't even think Ichigo noticed." He gave a heavy sigh, heavier than he'd intended. "What bothers me is that you have to be all…" he trailed off trying to think of the right word. Many words came to mind, but none of them seemed quite right.

"All what?" the white-haired man prompted defensively.

"All weird about it an' sayin' your sorry all the time."

Kensai nearly apologized again but caught himself just in time. "What do you want me to do then?"

"I don't know…do whatever you want. Just quit sayin' your sorry; it doesn't suit you." This time Shinji left without giving the other a chance to reply.

He didn't hear or see or even sense much of Kensai for the rest of the evening. Much of this was due to the fact that Shinji decided to spend the night elsewhere. Though, he did stop by his bed in the middle of the night to find that Kensai had once again slipped beneath his sheets. He grinned affectionately in the secrecy of darkness and made sure he was covered before leaving once again. He had enough on his mind without having to shoo the other man our of his bed.

Shinji wandered the city for the majority of the night, lost in his own thoughts and feelings. However, around four a.m., he couldn't help stopping by the Kurosaki residence. He knew he shouldn't stay long but once he got so close, he couldn't turn away. His one small peak into the teen's bedroom window at his sleeping form had him sleepily perched outside said window for the better part of an hour

Though the blonde sat with the quietness and stillness of stone, save his carefully controlled breathing, he did not go unnoticed. Had he succeeded in only a quick glance, it would not have been the case, but he ended up lingering. Luckily for him, however, it was the son, rather than the father, whose attention he'd caught. He nearly left but the sleepy grin he received only drew him closer.

Ichigo rubbed the sleepies out of his eyes as he opened the window, "What's up?"

"Nothin', just out…thought I'd check on ya," he gave a naughty grin to hide his inner turmoil.

"You wanna come in?" the teen tried when the wind picked up for a moment, not that he didn't like the way it rustled his lover's hair.

"Naw. I better not." He thanked his lucky stars that he had at least enough sense for that because he knew just how warm and inviting that twin bed could be. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Ichigo hadn't really thought about what had awoken him, only that he liked what he saw when he opened his eyes. Now that it was pointed out to him, he could feel Shinji's raietsu and it was reacting very strangely to his. "Don't worry about it, I don't mind," he offered, hoping that this would not become a regular occurrence. As much as he enjoyed the other vizard's company, he also enjoyed a full night's sleep, something he was rarely allowed even before they started seeing each other.

Shinji gave a gentle smile, "Good night, Ichigo," he said in a surer voice than he thought he could manage but before he could flit off into the night, the other spoke.

"Shinji," the young man beckoned quietly as he reached a welcoming hand out the open window.

He felt his knees almost buckle at the sweetness in the voice that spoke his name and was lacing his fingers with those offered to him before he could regain his stability. The breath that he was going to use to gather his bearings got caught in his throat as he was drawn closer.

Ichigo, even though he was still for the most part half asleep, noticed the overwhelmed air to the other's features. "You okay? Ya look a little dizzy," he teased.

Dizzy was one word for it. Approaching intoxication would be another. Shinji just nodded vacantly and cupped the orange-haired vizard's cheeks in his hands so that he could finish their motion with a kiss. With the pressing of their lips, he could feel the warm, rosy flush already decorating his skin intensify. Already damning himself, he figured another little push wouldn't hurt and parted his lips, hoping to deepen the kiss.

Ichigo unthinkingly obliged, parting his lips in response and even bringing his tongue out to play before it was provoked and when he did, his boyfriend gave a quiet moan into their kiss and gripped his hand even harder. Instinctively, he gripped back and reached his free hand out to touch as well.

When he felt those careful, but still sleepily clumsy hands start to grab at his shirt, the heady rush returned and Shinji had to break their kiss in an earnest attempt to catch his breath.

When Ichigo withdrew a little, sensing his lover's urgency for oxygen, he could, even in the pale moon light, see that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were slightly dilated but before he could say anything about it, Shinji placed a thoughtful kiss on his forehead, said good night again, and disappeared. He simply shut his window and crawled beneath the covers again, drifting quickly back to sleep.

Shinji, upon landing, thankfully on his feet, on the sidewalk in front of the Kurosaki Clinic, stumbled to the park only a few blocks away. As he sat down beneath one of the trees facing a small duck pond, he wanted to slap himself. He settled for splashing his face with some of the pond water. It helped, but not much as the water was tepid at best and not the shocking sort of cold that he'd been hoping for. Sitting beneath the tree, back to the trunk, Shinji blinked, squinted, and looked about. Gathering his bearings seemed to do him some good, enough to relax a little a least. Well, a little at first, then maybe too much.

* * *

Shinji awoke the following morning to a familiar but very worried face looking down at him. He groaned inwardly at his error in judgment. "I-Ichigo…" he barely managed.

The teen crouched down next to his boyfriend, "What are you doin' here?"

He tried to laugh it off as though it was nothing, but they had been together long enough that that wasn't going to work.

"Did you sleep here?" Ichigo assumed from the wrinkles in the man's clothes and the foliage that had settled upon him.

Shinji gave a shameful expression and looked away. "So what if I did?"

Ichigo gave a concerned frown. "If you needed a place to sleep, you should have said something," he offered.

"I have a place to sleep," he snapped, a pounding headache starting to coalesce around his temples, "I just slept here. What's so wrong with that?"

"Why didn't you sleep there then?" Ichigo pressed as he sat down.

It was obvious Shinji didn't want to answer that as he cradled his head, still incapable of meaningful eye contact.

Ichigo looked down at his watch. If he left now, he could make it to school on time but, having sat down, already committed himself to the situation he'd happened upon. Resigned to the fact that he would be tardy, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here, looks like you need this more than I do."

"Too bad you don't have coffee," Shinji joked in return.

Ichigo wanted to laugh but the implication struck him too hard. "Were you out drinkin' or somethin'?" he tried, though he had yet to smell alcohol on his lover and hoped that the "or somethin'" wouldn't be anything worse than that.

"No, of course not," he dismissed truthfully. Shinji drank occasionally and almost never to excess.

"Then why do you look like shit?" he plainly confronted after seeing that his more subtle attempts, though not very subtle in themselves, weren't doing the trick.

"I slept here because Kensai slept in my bed last night," he reluctantly confessed, ratting out his comrade for the sake of concealing more personal reasons.

As Shinji expected, that made Ichigo frown but not the angry or jealous or disappointed sort of frown he'd been expecting. This frown was more confused than anything. "So?"

"He's been sleepwalking the last few nights and ends up in my bed. I got tired of gettin' woke up and havin' to kick'em out," he half-heartedly complained.

"He's still addicted to your raietsu then I take it," Ichigo tried not to grumble.

"Something like that, yeah," Shinji vaguely agreed.

"You can't sleep in the park," Ichigo suddenly informed.

"You can't tell me where to sleep," Shinji snapped back, managing to keep his tone somewhat playful.

"Why kick'em out?" Ichigo asked, almost as suddenly as his previous statement. If it was for the sake of comforting the condition, he didn't see much wrong with it.

Shinji blinked in surprise. "What do you mean why?"

"You did it for me, didn't you? You don't have to do that, ya know," Ichigo curtly replied.

Shinji screwed his eyes shut for a moment and opened them again, brow furrowing at what he saw.

"What's that look for?"

"I don't wan'em there 'cause it makes me miss you," he finally blurted out, glad that he'd gone for 'miss you' in stead of the more accurate 'ache for you'.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to make a stupid face, "R-Really?"

Shinji rolled his eyes and splashed some of the water from the gifted bottle at his boyfriend. "Yeah, really. Duh. But there's somethin' you gotta know," he turned serious for a moment.

"What's that?"

"I'm not the only one gettin' high off your raietsu right now. Kensai's got it pretty bad for you too right now."

"Is there something I should do?" Ichigo asked with a strange hopeful reluctance.

"Just do what you normally do. Easiest way to get things back to normal, or as close to normal as they ever were," he advised.

"I guess I just didn't realize that he might react to both of us like that," Ichigo admitted sheepishly, though now that he thought about it, it made sense.

"He had both of us during his last episode, that's all it takes, and at the same time to boot," Shinji added, starting the effort of standing. He didn't really feel like standing or doing anything related to standing but he wanted to stay in the park even less. "I'm gunna go get cleaned up and get somethin' to eat," he informed once standing.

Ichigo gave an approving nod and stood as well. "Do me a favor?" he asked seriously.

"What's that?"

"Don't sleep in the park anymore… You don't wanna sleep in your own bed, that's fine. Just let me help you out, 'kay?"

That tone always made Shinji's heart melt no matter if it was feeling as cold and hard as ice or already on fire. "Okay…sure," he agreed if only to placate his young lover. What he heard sounded more like, 'If you sleep in the park, don't get caught!'.

Shinji managed to escape without a good-bye kiss and probably only because Ichigo was still pretty worried about him. Once he was back to the warehouse, he didn't bother with the shower, at least not right away. Instead, upon finding that Kensai had left his bed, he crawled in and went back to sleep.


	39. Tensest Week

short wrap-up for this trio...

* * *

Had Kensai been thinking a little more clearly on the day of his last episode, he would have been less likely to engage the blossoming couple and if Shinji had been able to keep his hands to himself, it would have been easier for him to keep focused on the one person he'd been preoccupied with. His original intent had nothing to do with Shinji. Ichigo had sufficiently distracted him but when the blonde insisted, he couldn't say no.

And really, the after effects of the pair weren't that bad for him, assisted by the fact that the couple immediately returned to spending their time and energy exclusively on one another. It also didn't hurt that the majority of his experiences rested on the opposite end of the scale from Shinji. That is to say that while he didn't have the easiest time with his episodes, he didn't usually have trouble controlling himself.

However, this changed when both Shinji and Ichigo had their next episodes at the same time. Their draw was so intense for him that there were moments when he seriously considered asking one of his comrades to bind him so he could be sure not to go running to them, knowing that it would only exasperate the situation. It was torturous, even painful at times, and with both of them going so hard, nothing seemed to ease him. Needless to say, this was not something he was used to dealing with and while he managed to stick it out, it was not without consequence.

He had himself convinced that it was under control, that the worst of it was over, until Shinji woke him up in the middle of the night, only to find that he'd sleepwalked into the other man's bed. That was not something he did, more something that Shinji had a habit of doing during desperate times.

* * *

When Wednesday dawned, Shinji was already gone. He spent the majority of the day by himself, save walking his young lover home from school, in attempt to help straighten out his feelings as well as allow Kensai time to deal with his own issues. However, this left him with the irresistible urge to see him as soon as possible the following morning, meeting him along his walk to school.

Kensai couldn't help lurking about during Ichigo's visit to their warehouse, or more specifically, Shinji. The white-haired vizard had been the first to notice the teen's approach but because his mere presence made butterflies in his stomach. Having them together again in front of him made his skin tingle and his hair stand on end, which in itself was almost more than he could stand but he couldn't avoid them completely. This left him to sit in the background for the duration of the visit, feeding off the natural fluctuations in their raietsu.

Making things just that much worse was that their posture didn't indicate any sort of aversion to being approached. They were obviously enjoying each other's company but they weren't so deeply engrossed as to ward off others. In fact, it appeared that the only reason Shinji had shooed Lisa away was her unconcealed gawking. He would have ceased the opportunity too if it weren't for the warning he'd received, adding insult to injury.

Not that Kensai made a habit of taking the advice of hollow but the fact that it could immerge without the young vizard's awareness to deliver a message like that said to him that there was a part of Ichigo, not just his hollow, that wanted him to keep his distance and so he did.

He should have expected someone to say something to him about it but he still started when he heard Lisa's voice behind him.

"Cute couple, ne?" she observed.

Kensai frowned. "What do you want?"

"Come on, don't be like that. I'm just checkin' on ya."

"And?" he prompted impatiently.

"And you look like hell," she surmised.

"Thanks," he replied dryly because she wasn't telling him anything that he didn't already know.

"So…you just gunna sit back and stew?" she prompted with impatience, though no where near intense as his.

He looked away from her for a moment and then to the couple in question, then back to her. "Yeah. Pretty much."

She nodded.

"What's it to you?"

"Like I said, just checkin'," she shrugged innocently.

They watched the pair for another few minutes before another word was spoken.

"I'm a little surprised that he's even here," Kensai commented on Ichigo's sudden arrival.

Lisa smirked.

"What?"

"Shinji invited him."

Kensai's frown deepened and he tried not to let it turn into a scowl.

Lisa, seeing that he wasn't in the mood for playful banter, even if it was purely for the sake of distraction, left him a short time later, leaving him to his own devices once again.

* * *

He was much less surprised that Shinji said something to him once Ichigo was gone. He had intended to slip away before the good-byes but watching them kiss was so mesmerizing that he couldn't tear himself away. Even when he did manage to try, which only happened after Shinji's announcement that the teen had left, he was called back.

* * *

Kensai hated being shooed from Shinji's bed. He never thought it would be something that he could feel that much feeling toward but he came to realize that it was because it was something that _never_ happened.

What he hated more was that the affection he sought to observe was what was now preventing him from an easy let down.

And what he hated the most was waking up on Friday morning in Shinji's empty bed when it was clear that the blonde had not spent even a moment, let alone the night, there.

It made him feel strange and empty, creating at times a pang in his chest when he thought about it too much. He wanted to blame Shinji for the way he was behaving, thinking that maybe he was nearly over his sleepwalking and if Shinji hadn't invited Ichigo over, he might have been. When he got up, he didn't bother to make the bed, leaving an outward symbol of his presence for the blonde to find upon his return, unaware that Shinji had checked on him during the night.

So,though his comrade's return the following morning made him ache, he was still somewhat pleased to see the fair man sleep so soundly once he did see fit to use his own bed.

* * *

When lunch time came, he couldn't help making an extra plate for his friend. Upon his approach, the stillness of the sleeping other gave him pause. Waking someone while so soundly asleep was something of a blasphemy for him, except in the case of emergencies but he was already too close to turn back.

"Shinji," he quietly cooed, carefully shaking the man's shoulder.

"Nnngh," the blonde whined but rolled over anyway. Before he opened his eyes, he knew who it was. "Kensss…" he sleepily trailed off.

Kensai gave an affectionate smile and reluctantly withdrew his hand. At least he was easy to wake. The more difficult, the more guilt he would have felt. "It's lunch time. You hungry?"

"Mmmm…." He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and took the plate into his lap. "Thanks," he managed after the first few bites.

Kensai nodded, as his mouth was also full.

Shinji didn't notice the courtesy; he was too busy eating.

"You still goin' out tomorrow night?"

"Yeah…" the thought made Shinji stop eating.

"Is that bad?" Kensai cocked an incredulous brow.

Shinji frowned, "Ishin wants me to pick him up at the house," he replied, picking at the remainder of his food.

Kensai laughed and Shinji winced. "Sorry," he sheepishly appoligized.

"No, it's fine. Just not so loud, okay?"

The white-haired man's laughter was contained within a chuckle as he nodded in approval.


	40. Indulgence

When they were finished eating, Shinji set his plate aside and started going through his clothes, pulling out pieces to an outfit as he saw fit, not really caring if they matched or anything like that, and set them on the edge of his bed. Once satisfied with that, he look back to Kensai with an odd expression on his face.

"I'm gunna get changed," he informed in an even voice.

"Okay," Kensai shrugged.

"Do you mind?" This time the blonde's tone bordered on indignity.

"Not really, no," he shrugged again, unable to hide the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Shinji pursed his lips. "You have been _really good_ lately…" he trailed off as he undid the buttons that hadn't slipped from their holes during his sleep.

Kensai recognized that tone and it created a Pavlovian response in him. He couldn't fight the grin anymore as it slowly spread.

That grin made Shinji's heart skip a beat, even if it did pain him to be separated from Ichigo, indulging Kensai still felt pretty damn good. He fumbled the last button slightly but recovered before sliding the garment off his shoulders and down his arms.

Having Shinji's milky torso bared to him so suddenly made Kensai's jaw drop and he was only able to conceal this by licking his lips. "Mmmm…."

The other man's obvious appreciation and spiritual fluctuations made Shinji give a haughty little grin. It felt good to be appreciated and the look he was getting now was second only to the ones that Ichigo gave him. "Do you really intend to watch me get changed?" he teasingly challenged.

"You gunna let me?" the white-haired man challenged in return.

"I suppose you'd call me a tease again if I asked you to leave now," Shinji feigned petulance as he began to work on his belt, making sure to keep steady eye-contact with the man seated on his floor.

"I-I'd understand," Kensai managed, having to swallow hard to even get those words out.

"That doesn't mean you wouldn't call me nasty things because of it," he continued to badger, now sliding his belt free of the loops on his pants.

Kensai gave a flicker of a frown in his features but that was the only indicator of ill feeling toward that remark.

"I don't tease," Shinji asserted.

"Tch," Kensai finally scoffed.

"I just want to make sure my partner is as excited as I am; you know how excited I get sometimes," he dawdled while unbuttoning and unzipping his fly.

Right now, Kensai was so excited that he thought his head might explode. His hands were practically shaking and he gave a little groan at the sound of the other man's zipper.

"I don't _want_ to tease you," Shinji informed in a sudden bout of sincerity.

Kensai almost said, "Then don't," but he wasn't sure where that would lead.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, drawing a few small steps closer until he stood at the other's feet. "Do you simply want a little peep show? Or maybe something more?"

"I'll take what I can get," Kensai bitterly blurted out. "I know you and Kurosaki-"

"Aht! Do not bring him into this," he quickly scolded, stepping back again. Even just the sound of his name made the ache redouble.

Kensai was obviously startled but didn't argue. However, that didn't mean he was going to go for it. He knew Shinji was promiscuous in almost every sense of the word but the warning he received kept him from fully taking advantage of it.

At the obedience, Shinji's smile returned. "Thank you," he nodded seriously. "Now, where was I?" He slowly turned away from the man on the floor and took a couple steps away as his hands went for the waist of his pants. He wasn't going to look at first, but the sound of Kensai's gasp had him peering over his shoulder as he pulled down his pants.

Kensai was biting his lip to suppress any sounds louder than the one he just made with his eyes riveted to the sight before him. Shinji was naturally thin, though not scrawny, allowing his clothes to hide the majority of the subtle curves along the man's body, curves that were now slowly coming into Kensai's view.

"Like what you see, ne?" Shinji teased, pulling his socks off with his pants. Even if he hadn't looked at Kensai or heard the sensual sounds he made, Shinji would have been able to sense the other's appreciation, if only by his raietsu. When he did turn around to get a good look, he could clearly see the heated desire in his eyes and the way his hands would occasionally give a repressed twitch.

The white-haired man's eyes nearly rolled when Shinji turned around, effectively revealing that he was partially erect. The desire to reach out and touch him was so strong that only concentrating on keeping his breathing even enough not to become too dizzy kept him from reaching a shaking hand out to the lithe blonde.

Shinji felt oddly endeared by the other man's adamant self control even if he didn't comprehend it and knelt down between the larger man's outstretched legs. As he did, he watched as Kensai's steely eyes widened and he recoiled and though because his back was to the wall, he had no where to go, it was a visible reaction nonetheless.

The look the blonde gave him in response was inquisitive with the shadow of a playful pout and the recoil did little to stop his advance. The draw of the desire in the man's eyes and the occasional, increasing jabs of raiestu overruled the rest his features and egged Shinji on. The mostly naked vizard hesitated for only the slightest fraction of a moment before reaching a careful but sure hand out to touch one of the other man's trembling fists.

Kensai gasped sharply at the minute physical contact. The words 'I should leave now,' formed in the back of his mind but couldn't get any further than that. "Sh-inji," he muttered but any subsequent words were stolen by the tingling heat that ripped over his skin from the barest of touches he was being offered.

"Shhhh," Shinji soothed, lightly running his fingers along the back of the larger man's hand, expanding to include his forearm as well. "It's okay," he cooed gently.

The seated man gave a little whine that he could hardly believe was his own at the affection and it was that sound that made Shinji realize he was walking a very fine line between helping and making it worse. Luckily, he knew just the thing for that.

"Here," he said as he started to unzip Kensai's pants with his free hand.

Even just the idea of tearing himself away from the lithe blonde now practically in his lap made the pain return, something he wasn't yet ready for so he finally decided to hell with Ichigo's hollow and hoped for the best or at least enough satisfaction to make any other bitterness less cruel.

Shinji awed for a moment at his comrade's unusual submissiveness. He could tell it was brought on by a certain apprehension, the source of which was inexplicable to him but he was perceptive enough to know better than to ask, at least to ask right. It was something he could save for later, if it continued to bother him.

Kensai's eyes glazed over and he bit his lip as his erection was freed and subsequently fondled. This daze was broken when Shinji stopped the lightly ticking attention on the back of his hand and arm to bring his fingers to his lips, where they carefully coaxed his lip from between his teeth.

"You'll make yourself bleed if you keep that up," the blonde warned when he encountered a moment of difficulty.

The moment of clarity that the consideration evoked was almost as cathartic as being sensually engaged with one of the objects of his desire. He gave a vague nod and complied, and was rewarded a moment later when Shinji placed an apologetic kiss on the abused flesh. Without thinking, he took hold of Shinji's hips and pulled him the rest of the way into his lap, thoroughly enjoying the small sound of surprise he received in response.

Shinji couldn't help smiling into the kiss Kensai initiated a moment later and since his hand was free once again, he decided to pull himself out of his boxers. There were close enough now that he could hold their erections together in his hand and message them at the same time.

They both groaned into the kiss and rolled their hips. With that spark of abandon, they were finally lost in one another, their heat, and their friction. There were no words for a long time after that, only unmistakable sounds of pleasure. It wasn't long before Shinji had to brace himself, placing one hand on his friend's chest to do so. He could feel Kensai's heart beating frantically, so hard that he didn't think he was the only one wondering if it might pop out of his chest. The only thing that distracted him from that was the way his chest was heaving with every breath he took, like there wasn't enough oxygen in the air.

Shinji broke their kiss so that Kensai could catch his breath but that intention didn't last because he noticed Kensai's nipples poking out his tank top and had to touch them, first through the fabric, then by sliding his hand beneath. Many years ago he had thought the other man had an aversion to that kind of attention only to learn that his aversion was to how much it aroused him. After that, he was quick to learn which varieties of attention the man liked best and which he simply tolerated.

Kensai squirmed as Shinji rubbed his thumb in gentle but obviously determined circles over his right nipple. His squirming, though usually an embarrassment, made Shinji give a mischievous and lusty little chuckle and that laughter sent a shiver of delight through his entire body. All this had him holding onto Shinji's hips so tightly that he didn't realize he was leaving bruises the perfect size and shape of his hands on either side. He may not have realized it, but Shinji was acutely aware of the strong hands that had taken hold of him and seemed glued to the first spot they touched.

The blonde recognized it as a defense mechanism of some sort but a defense against what he couldn't discern. So, he tried to push any worry that caused within him to the back of his mind while still trying to be mindful of the precarious position they were in. Luckily, this mental battle didn't have to last for too very long. Shinji could feel his comrade's length starting to throb with impending release, causing a sympathetic reaction in his own. No, it wouldn't be long now before he got to see just how much harm or good he was doing by indulging Kensai Meguruma in this time of awkward desperation. That meant he also wasn't far from finding out what sort of effect that might have on him.

When Kensai came, he threw his head back wildly, a guttural moan pouring freely from his lips as the back of his head made harsh contact with the wall behind him. In the clarity of release, he was rather proud of himself for not having moaned Shinji's name as it happened. Though, he did almost gasp it when Shinji's orgasm came right on the heals of his. This left them both panting as their movements slowed to a stop.

"Th-Thank you, Shinji," Kensai managed after a few moments of peaceful near-silence.

Shinji gave him an odd look and, feeling that with the thank you the grip on his hips was released, he started to withdraw. This was the moment of truth for him. Would Kensai let him go? Or would he try to hold on just a little bit longer? He was pleased, though a little naturally disappointed, when he was allowed his escape without incident and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm gunna take a shower," Shinji informed with a somewhat expectant look but when the expectation was met with a look of mild confusion, he continued, "You gunna come?"

Kensai was a little taken aback by the invitation, especially after the blonde's near immediate withdrawal. "Naw, took one this morning…" he mumbled.

That made Shinji quirk a small smile, "Then you should at least change your clothes; you've made a terrible mess of yourself," he teased, in the friendly and playful voice that always struck something in the other man, even back before they were captains.

Kensai looked down at himself to find a sight that no double pleased his comrade even if he wasn't addicted to him in return. His shirt was pushed up to the point where it was nearly bunched up under his arms while his pants and underwear were pushed down enough to display his, now flaccid, member. If that weren't enough, he had the evidence of their encounter splattered all over his torso. In his post-orgasmic haze, it made him laugh a little. "Yeah, I'll do that." Then, as he started to clean himself up with a few tissues from the nightstand, he turned back to his friend, "Look, Shinji, I wasn'-" was as far as he got.

"I knew you weren't going to try anything," Shinji informed, a little annoyed that his long time friend didn't think he could read him as well as he could. "I made the move because that's what you needed, right?" He didn't know why but his gut told him it was true. His instinct was affirmed by the awkward look he was now receiving. "Don't worry. I won't ask why," he assured even though he very badly wanted to know. The guilt in those steely eyes prevented him from pressing further before leaving with a pile of clothes and a towel to go take his shower.

The blonde was gone before Kensai could formulate another coherent thought; so, he finished putting himself back together and left.

* * *

Shinji hadn't intended to take a shower, but now he felt the disturbing desire to wash himself clean of any trace of Kensai. Though he had succeeded in sating his friend, he was now the one left wanting. It was like giving someone diet cola when all they wanted was classic, but if cola were more like a narcotic than a soft drink. And more than a narcotic but an actual person, their very essence intoxicating and their absence terribly painful. But, he had to admit that even though he was more anxious in some regards, he did feel much of the cathartic effects of their encounter, leaving him temporarily in a state of physical relief but spiritual and emotional tension.

He wondered whether or not he should try to see his boyfriend that evening. He wasn't sure if it would ease or aggravate the situation when he came to pick the young man up the following evening. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself trying to justify even just a quick hello or else he might find himself outside the young man's window once again.

Meanwhile, Kensai, after changing his clothes and doing their dishes, made his way upstairs. Finding a comfortable perch in the rafters of the warehouse, he sat and drew the cigarette from behind his ear, using a small fire kido to light it. He rarely smoked but as Shinji had him point out during his last episode, he was lucky enough to be able to use other vices as a crutch and this was the perfect epilogue to their encounter as far as he was concerned, especially since it was a little early in the day to start drinking. In fact, he felt so serene that he was half way through his cigarette before the ash fell off and through no fault of his own.

"Hey," Ichigo suddenly called from the ground below. He had been standing there for a few seconds but the white-haired man was so spaced out that he didn't notice.

Kensai's serenity immediately vanished at the sound of that crisp, youthful voice. He had been so zeroed in on Shinji's raietsu and the strange fluctuations he was experiencing that he hadn't noticed the teen's approach. He pulled a watch from his pocket and frowned. "You're supposed to be in school for another hour."

Ichigo gave a guilty grin, "It's just gym; not like I need the extra exercise anyway," he shrugged.

"Whatever," Kensai shrugged.

The orange-haired teen's grin fell at the dismissive tone and the fact that Kensai had yet to actually look at him. "Er….um…Kensai," he tried again, nervously scratching the back of his head.

The man perched in the rafters screwed his eyes shut for a moment and, with a sigh, prompted, "What is it Ichigo?"

"Do you want me to avoid you for a while?" he asked sheepishly. "I don't _have_ to come here."

Kensai frowned. Actually, he would rather be pounced on by the rambunctious young man. "Why _did_ you come here?"

The sudden question caught Ichigo off guard. "I was worried about Shinji," he finally said. The incident in the park that morning left him with a bad feeling that he just couldn't shake so he cut out of school as soon as he could.

"Don't waste your worries on him," Kensai dismissed before taking a rather long drag off his cigarette and flicking off the ash.

Ichigo didn't really like that answer but he accepted it anyway. "Mind if I go down and see'em anyway?" He tried to keep his tone playful and didn't wait for an answer before continuing toward the ramp.

The man in the rafters finally smiled. He was glad that Ichigo was going without waiting for an answer or some sort of permission. Even if his presence did bring about the return of some of his former anxiety, it wasn't anything near what he felt before. As he watched the handsome young man descend, he made a mental note to find a way to really thank Shinji.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of the steal-eyed vizard's sight. He found Shinji rather easily because he was with Hachi, who was a difficult person not to see no matter the circumstance. As he drew closer, he noticed that his boyfriend wasn't wearing a shirt and he had his pants pulled down a bit. A bit of confused excitement overcame him and he quickened his step.

"Oh, Ichigo," Shinji greeted with a blush.

"Shinji-san, please stand still," Hachi complained.

Shinji apologized and attempted to comply.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked when he saw that the large, gentle man was healing his lover.

Shinji gave a soft, guilty little smile. "I don't wanna talk about it right now," he tried, hoping that his young love trusted him at least enough for that.

Ichigo couldn't help frowning and rather petulantly at that.

"In a minute, okay?" he bargained carefully.

Ichigo was about to argue but then he saw the look of impatience that Hachi was giving them.

"Shinji-san, please. If you're going to keep fidgeting, I'm going to have to bind you just to heal you." Though exasperated, this man was kind hearted enough to still offer a playful threat before giving up on him.

The blonde apologized again and again tried to stand still enough to not be a nuisance. He pursed his lips and closed his eyes in concentration but still fiddled with the folds of fabric in his hands and tapped his foot in an erratic and uneven rhythm.

Ichigo practically held his breath while waiting for them to finish and though he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away, he felt that anything more than that might be too much of distraction and disrupt the process all over again. When he was finished, Ichigo offered an apology of his own.

"It's quite alright. I suppose I should be used to it by now. Shinji-san is the very worst of patients," he half-joked.

"I'm standing right here. Don't talk about me like I'm not here," the blonde suddenly complained.

"Of course," the other man gave a polite nod, "I meant no offense."

Shinji sighed listlessly and rolled his eyes. "Of course," he agreed because Hachi wasn't the kind of person who would intentionally offend someone unless they really deserved it. "Come on," he motioned to Ichigo, who made sure they thanked Hachi again before taking off.

"So what was that all about?" Ichigo asked, once out of earshot of the others.

The older vizard took a moment to take in his lover. Everything about him was perfect except for the air of concern he held. With an apologetic expression he said, "I'm sorry for making you worry." The apology was obviously genuine but he couldn't hide the half-lidded look of longing in his eyes. So, without waiting for a response, he closed the gap between their bodies and pulled him in for a kiss.

Ichigo was beginning to realize that his boyfriend seemed to prefer kisses to explanations, something he wasn't going to object to but it would take some getting used to. Something that he could very easily get used to because after such an aggressive start, Shinji seemed content to slowly melt in his arms, lips slowly softening against his and not asking for entrance for several long moments of intensely minimal affection. Their tongues only played for a moment before Shinji withdrew.

"I helped Kensai out today," the blonde calmly informed.

Ichigo gave a slightly perplexed look in response, "Could you be more vague, please," he joked.

The teen's teasing tone made him smile again. "He didn't ask me to but I think it really helped," he continued in a confessionary tone.

"Yeah? He looked pretty calm when I saw him on my way in," Ichigo shrugged. It was the first time he'd actually gotten to speak to Kensai since his episode so he didn't have much to go off of. "He didn't even notice me until I said something to him," he mused.

"Really?" Shinji awed for a moment. He surprised even himself by how good of a job he did with the other man.

"What did it take?" Ichigo asked suddenly and when the man in his arms started at the suddenness of the question, he held him tight.

"Why do you ask? I thought you preferred me not to kiss and tell," he teased, feeling a little dizzy but a good kind of dizzy.

Ichigo shrugged. Sure, he didn't want Shinji doing that to him but not hearing about what he did with others was a bit torturous. "Just curious…" he dismissed.

Shinji quirked a grin of knowing mischief. "Nothing special. Just a quick fix," he explained.

Ichigo was going to leave it at that. Obviously, the older vizards had done something together and Shinji felt that Ichigo should know that but the what of it didn't seem to matter. That is, until Shinji added.

"He seemed to think I wouldn't want to," the blonde lazily drawled and resting his head on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Oh?" the younger vizard prompted impatiently.

"And I think it's 'cause he was worried about what you would think," the finally added.

"About what?"

Shinji shrugged, "I couldn't figure that out. Perhaps of him? Or maybe he's worried about messing up what we have? I just don't know…" he trailed off.

The guesses made Ichigo laugh.

"What's so funny?" the blonde finally lifted his head again to look into the smiling face.

"He's got a pretty big ego if he's worried about that crap," the teen stated simply.

That made Shinji laugh as well, so hard in fact that he had to break their embrace and was wiping a tear from his eye before he gathered enough sense to reply. "I wish he'd heard you say that. But you gotta understand," he added after a moment, "What he and I did, it was only a distraction. He's still pretty stuck on you."

Ichigo's features softened at the mention the addiction. "And what about you? How are you holdin' up?"

"I'm better now that you're here," he gave a little wink.

"Oh yeah?" the younger vizard tried to keep the cocky grin from creeping across his lips. "I thought you were distracted," he half-teased.

The teasing caused Shinji to pout.

"Aw, what's that look for?" Ichigo took his older friend by the hand and pulled him close again. If Shinji was going to keep fidgeting like that, he'd rather feel it than watch it.

"You're actually going to make me say it, aren't you?" Shinji half-complained; he would have actually complained but he was afraid of sounding too petulant.

Ichigo gave his boyfriend an odd, wondering look. "I can't make _you_ do anything," he laughed again.

"Ichigo," Shinji placed his hands on the strong chest pressed against his own and forced a bit of distance between them, "seriously," he swallowed hard. "I did it to help Kensai and, yeah, it was fun. I wouldn't'a done it if wasn't but…"

The sudden near-trembling sincerity in the blonde's voice made Ichigo think his heart was going to stop. "But what?" he prompted, almost shaking the man in his arms with impatience.

"But it just made me want you more," he finally confessed and the look Ichigo gave him in return made him second guess himself. It was a strange mixture of pride and regret. "Don't look at me like that, please," he pulled them close again.

"I just-" Ichigo faltered. He had come to help make Shinji feel better, whatever that might entail, but it appeared that even just his presence was making things worse.

The faintest trace of Shinji's smile returned because it was his sigh that cut the other off. He was having trouble finding his words and glad for the moment to gather his thoughts. "Mmmmm…." he took a moment to let the young man's raietsu wash over him. "Ichi-kun," he began, practically mewling the name, "This can't go on forever. Eventually, we'll have to stop seeing each other for a while so I can get my head straight and that'll probably take quite a while."

"What are you saying?" Ichigo could feel his heart starting to break. This sounded like the lead-up to a break up.

Shinji held the strong, youthful form even tighter. "I don't know when that will be so I want to enjoy every second of you that I can until then."

After that, Ichigo was tired of talking, at least for the time being. So, he lifted Shinji's chin and started kissing him again. When the blonde moaned into his mouth, he thought his knees might buckle from beneath him, leaving to crash to the ground because Shinji was resting a fair amount of his weight on him.

They would have toppled to the ground eventually but they were interrupted. Just as Ichigo felt nimble fingers venturing beneath the hem of his uniform shirt, there was a loud, "Ahem."

The broke apart for a moment. It was Love and he was giving them an impatient look over his sunglasses.

"Ah, Love," Shinji greeted with a blush. "Is there something I can do for you?"

The dark man rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up. "Yeah, get a room, would ya?"

The couple blushed even harder. Neither of them had intended to get as intense as they had but once they started, neither was very interested in restraint.

"Oh, yes. Of course," Shinji replied, seeing that his lover was too embarrassed to speak, and led Ichigo away. They could hear the dark man's low chuckle as they retreated.


	41. Indulgence II

The couple made it back to Shinji's without further incident. It was the first time that Ichigo had been in one of the vizards' personal space and he took a second to look around while Shinji nibbled on the side of his neck. It was a small enclosure, tent-like but more permanent and tall enough to comfortably stand, with a double bed, a nightstand with a lamp, a small bookshelf, and a record player.

"So-ah," Ichigo began after he realized that if he allowed Shinji to pay his neck too much attention with his mouth, he may have to start wearing turtlenecks. "What can I do for you?"

That question made Shinji give his boyfriend a look of guilty mischief but it quickly melted into an affectionate smile as he led the young man over to the bed. "Just let me get my Berry fix, 'kay?" he teased.

Ichigo gave an annoyed like grumble at the nickname, but even that still held a playful air.

"Oh?" Shinji sounded extremely disappointed, even if the frown he was receiving wasn't completely serious, and tried to make up for it by sitting down next to the orange-haired vizard on the bed while continuing his affectionate touches.

"When you say it like that…" he trailed off, somewhat embarrassed.

The sudden bout of embarrassment sparked Shinji's curiosity and used their intense eye contact to prompt him to continue without words.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like I'm food or something," he managed to finish the thought this time.

Shinji's smile grew wide, almost wickedly so, and he could tell the look slightly unnerved his lover.

Actually, the look was only unnerving for Ichigo because of how much it excited him. The first couple of times he saw Shinji smile like that were unsettling but what usually followed was so good that now it made his heart flutter with anticipation.

"You are absolutely delicious…" the blonde trailed off as he started unbuttoning the young man's shirt.

Ichigo's blush intensified at the words, but still couldn't find any more of his own. So instead, he tried reciprocating the action but was stopped short.

"I just got cleaned up," Shinji informed with a husky voice. "So you just sit back and let me work, okay?"

His tone was coaxing and seductive, making Ichigo bite his lip a little as nodded, allowing Shinji to lay him on his back.

"That's right," the blonde coaxed and finished the unbuttoning. Once the toned chest was bared to him, he breath hitched for a moment but that moment didn't last. With a smile, he lowered his lips to the tan flesh and started kissing and suckling, occasionally nibbling when the fancy struck him. His lips explored the curves of his lover's throat and down past his collar bones to his pectorals. Even just that had him practically breathless but he had to keep going. He flicked his tongue out to taste one of the dusty tan nipples , eliciting a heated gasp.

It was only then that Shinji had the nerve to look back up into Ichigo's eyes. They were half-lidded as he looked downward and the rosy flush of arousal decorated his cheeks. Yes, this young man was absolutely delicious. He gave a playful growl and nipped at the bud that had hardened so quickly under his attention.

"Ah-Sh-" the orange-haired vizard gasped and the man at his chest gave an amused chuckle. It felt like his body was reacting to every little touch and caress, not that he was doing much to repress his reactions as his lover seemed to be just as interested in that as anything else. He laughed and kicked a little when Shinji's tongue tickled his ribs and was glad that the blonde didn't seem inclined to linger on that. It was just something to do while he moved lower.

When he stuck his tongue in the younger vizard's bellybutton and swirled it around, he received another little bout of ticklish kicking which quickly subsided into much more erotic sounds, little whimpers and moans. He even found himself moaning a little into the skin his mouth was making love to and when strong hands started tentatively touching his hair and shoulders, he had to ease up for a moment to catch his breath. "Ichi," he softly breathed.

The teen shuddered at the sound of his name and the breath against his now damp skin. He could feel Shinji's energy pressing in on him; it felt so strange and yet so familiar. "Shinji," he beckoned with a dazed expression and was a little surprised when the man lifted his head to look into his face.

A bit of concern danced across his features, "Ichi, you okay?"

Ichigo blinked and squinted for a moment, "Yeah, just…kinda dizzy," he confessed.

The confession made Shinji smile and his reply came as started to work on removing the young man's pants. "That's my fault."

He had a feeling that was the case and wasn't going to argue. Of course, if he had intended to protest, it would have been quickly quelled by the dexterous fingers freeing his erection. He hadn't realized how hard he'd gotten from such minimal attention until he felt hands brushing against his length. His breath hitched as his head rolled back when Shinji took a firm grip at the base and started massaging.

"Do you mind?" the blonde carefully asked as he started to pull down the younger vizard's pants.

Ichigo bit his lip and shook his head no, lifting his hips to assist the process. He was a little disappointed when they were only pulled down to his knees but didn't say or do anything about it. Even if he wanted to, his words would have been lost when his boyfriend's hot mouth engulfed his erection. His hips jerked upward. "F-fuck, Shinji!" he gasped.

The older vizard gave a lusty chuckle that was made even more so by the fact that it was quite muffled. He could feel his arousal starting to return in full once again and to keep from touching himself, he brought his hands up to either side of the young man's hips. He'd intended to take hold of them to steady himself but when he found his lover's hands, balled into fists and clenching the bed sheets, he didn't even think before laying his on them instead.

The moment before Shinji touched his hands, Ichigo had just been thinking that it was a little too hot in Shinji's room but even compared to that, the blonde's hands felt as though they were nearly on fire. He took hold of them as best he could and continued to writhe under the attention he was receiving for several short minutes before he felt his orgasm approaching. "Ah-gh, oh, god, Shinji, stop please," he pleaded between gasping moans.

The blonde faltered for a moment but tried to keep going until Ichigo squeezed his hands even harder and repeated his plea. He reluctantly pulled away, his breathing at least as heavy as his lover's as he looked upward with a look of pain, audacity, and disappointed longing at having been stopped short. "Wh-why?" he barely spoke for fear of hearing too much emotion in his own voice and started to worry his lip with his teeth when he didn't receive an immediate reply.

Ichigo lay for a few seconds gathering his breath, "How…How far can we go?" he finally asked when he no longer felt that the hot breath tickling his aching length would making him spill himself and felt his boyfriend's hands tremble slightly in response.

Shinji's eyes danced with delight, "As far as you want," he replied, somewhat hypnotically.

"I want you inside me," the young man replied breathily and felt butterflies start to flutter in his stomach at the look he got in return.

His lover's words almost made the older vizard cum in his pants and he groaned. When his hands were released a moment later, he procured his lubricant from the bedside stand while unfastening his fly. He enjoyed the slightly surprised look he received when he didn't fully remove either of the pants. Instead, he lifted one of Ichigo's legs and started to prepare him with slick fingers. To his disappointment, he was stopped again.

Once his opening was slick, Ichigo reached down and removed the fingers attempting to stretch him. "Quit screwin' around. Just do it," he ordered.

Shinji gave a heated gasp but couldn't protest. So, he smeared some extra lube onto his member and positioned himself.

Ichigo gasped in return when the blonde took hold beneath his knees, where his pants were still bunched up, and started to press into him.

"Oh, Ichi-," Shinji groaned through gritted teeth as he sheathed himself as slowly as possible, which was actually not very slowly at all. He had to stop once he was all the way in. "I'm not gunna last very long," he warned with marked regret.

"Me neither…" the younger confessed, "but I'm gunna go crazy if you don-" he stopped when Shinji started moving again mid-sentence.

At that, all Shinji cared about was holding out for his partner. If the young man was as close to his peak as he indicated, all he wanted was to have that be what brought him crashing over his own edge.

Before Ichigo even realized his arms were moving, he was bracing himself against the headboard both for leverage and so he wouldn't hit his head. With his knees caught together by this slacks and his ankles about as far apart as they could get, it was the only thing he could do to push back as he came, groaning and moaning the other's name.

The blonde gripped his lover's hips as they bucked and wiggled beneath him until he realized that the younger vizard was just about to come. Then he brought one hand to the younger's erection and pumped him over the edge. When he spilled himself in turn, his cries were nearly incoherent. The only sound that could be discerned for sure was, "Ichi-Ichi…" As his hips slowed, he sat back on his heals and allowed his spent lover to stretched out after being nearly doubled over. As he did, it gave the opportunity to really look at the young vizard, rosy and panting on his bed. The sight made a silly little smile tug at the corners of hips lips.

"Shinji…" the teen muttered after a moment.

"Hmmm?" he idly replied, starting to clean them up a bit.

"I feel…strange…" That elaboration, earned him a critical look.

"How so?"

Ichigo thought for a moment, "Kinda like…when I drank with Kensai. I guess kinda drunk but it's different. I don't know how to explain it."

"I guess you're not as immune to these things as I thought," Shinji surmised, laying down next to his boyfriend. "But don't look so concerned. The high will wear off pretty quickly," he assured.

The idea of becoming intoxicated from Shinji's raietsu bothered him a little but only as much as being intoxicated in general did. The fact that it was the blonde he cared so deeply for causing it, made a warmth well up in him that he couldn't deny so he wrapped his arms around the other and held him close. "This is what happens to you…when we're together?" he finally asked.

Shinji chuckled a little. "Yeah," he replied simply, unwilling to elaborate that even if the young man were to come completely drunk with him, he would most likely not end up passed out in a park nearby for the night. It was better to leave these things unsaid.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of contentment. He could definitely see how someone could come to crave a feeling like was experiencing and go to great lengths to get it. After a moment of this train of thought, he let his head roll to the side and noticed something that had slipped his attention earlier. "What's that?" he asked with slight lethargy as he pulled a cigarette from the bed side stand.

Shinji took it and examined it. It was pretty obvious what exactly the item was but someone had written something very carefully on the side in pencil.

_Just in case. -K_

The blonde laughed a little and read it aloud.

"It's from Kensai?" the young man surmised. "What for?"

"Either to celebrate our consummation…or to console me if I was denied," he replied, breaking the stick in two and tossing it into the near by waste basket.

Ichigo smiled at the action. "How thoughtful…" he rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so hard on him. He can't help it," the older vizard comforted, seeing the look of dismissal in the other's features.

"He just wants to do bad things to you," Ichigo half-teased.

Shinji gave a naughty little giggle. "Well, you know I don't quite mind that."

His lover's aloofness bothered him a little. "He told me when we were drinking that night," he tried again.

Now that had Shinji's interest. "What did he tell you that night anyway?"

"He wanted a cock slave," he had to practically spit the term out because of how much it bothered him.

An evil grin spread across the older man's lips. "Ya don't say…That's rather unusual for Kensai."

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo scoffed with incredulity.

"Oh yes, he much prefers an equal partnership…at least most of the time. I can see why he was so disappointed now." Suddenly Shinji's grin turned into a slight frown. "That sneaky bastard…he told me that he just wanted to be with me," he pouted rather petulantly. "And I was thinking about continuing to indulge him too," he muttered.

"What's that mean?" Ichigo turned his dazed gaze back on his lover.

"Well, I was hoping it would let us see each other for longer if I gave into him every once in a while…to take the edge off so to speak," he explained carefully.

Ichigo cocked his head and a strange little twinkle came into his eyes. "Do you know which of us will have an episode next?" he suddenly asked.

Shinji thought for a moment. "It's usually pretty difficult to say. Between the two of us, however, I will suffer again long before you do."

"And what about Kensai?"

He had to think again for a moment, this one taking longer than the last because he was also wondering what his boyfriend was getting at. "He'll go before we do. I'm pretty sure of that. Why do you ask?"

Ichigo didn't immediately answer. Instead, he appeared lost in thought, only the slight worrying of his lower lip indicating that he hadn't just fallen asleep with his eyes open. "He wanted me to help him get you back for ditching him," he suddenly replied after a moment.

"So?"

"He said that I'd never help out number someone even if he totally deserved it," he continued idly.

"Did he tell you what I did to him during that episode?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off but before Shinji could press further about that, he abruptly began again. "Do you think it'd be too mean to gang up on him when he has his next episode?"

Shinji's eyes nearly bugged out. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?" he cocked his head to the side again and again there was a strange twinkle in his eyes.

"Why do you want to? All that's over."

"Don't you think it'd be fun? Or do you think it's too mean?" the teen playfully posed.

"We're drunk," Shinji ran an affectionate hand through the spiky orange hair tickling his face. "Can we talk about this another time?" he tried.

Ichigo gave a petulant sigh of resignation. "I guess." So, he snuggled into this boyfriend and started to pass out.

Shinji had been ready to pass out until that little conversation. He almost couldn't believe his ears. Apparently, he wasn't the only one putting ideas in this young man's head. So, once Ichigo was sound asleep, which only took a matter of moments, he slipped away. Before finding Kensai, he stopped to talk to Hachi.

"Shinji-san, I can't keep stopping what I'm doing to heal you after every little tryst," he informed rather curtly before he was even asked.

"It-It's not me. I was hopin' you could make sure Ichigo's alright. I'm just fine, actually," he managed.

"Is it really necessary?" the large man asked, standing as he spoke.

Shinji shifted awkwardly. "I hope not but…he got a little…tipsy after we were done," he unwillingly elaborated.

Hachi frowned. "Of course I will see to him," he gave a polite bow and went in the direction of Shinji's but when the blonde started off in another direction, he paused. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"Um, no. I need to…clear my head a bit. I'll be back before he wakes up."

"Of course."

Shinji gave a sign of relief. Part one of his mission was over and with relatively little issue. Part two had the potential to be a little trickier. He found Kensai a few minutes later and his approached was greeted with a slight frown. "I thought you were feeling better," he began with a slight smirk that he couldn't hide through his condition.

"I am…" the silver-haired man muttered in response. "Did ya have to do it here?" he asked under his breath but now Shinji was close enough to hear it. Shinji had done an excellent job of temporarily sating him but the blonde's latest encounter with his young lover had put him nearly back where he was before lunch.

The blonde ignored the question. "I just heard the most peculiar rumor…" he began.

Kensai cocked an eyebrow. As far as he knew, the only person Shinji had been talking to since Ichigo arrived was Ichigo.

"I heard that…you wanted to do very bad things to me once I was hooked on the Kensai-juice. Is that true?" he asked knowingly.

Kensai's frown intensified and he blushed deeply.

"So it is…How interesting."

"What's your point?" the larger man snapped.

"Did it occur to you to simply ask me to be your cock slave?"

Kensai didn't answer.

"Instead of just leading me on," he added letting some bitterness seep through.

"Look, Shinji, I-" he attempted to defend himself.

"I might still be interested…if you asked really, really nice," Shinji offered.

The look Kensai gave to that was annoyed but he was so dumbfounded that it didn't really get through.

"Or we could make a trade," he continued his offer.

"What are you after?"

Shinji's gave a full fledged grin which he knew would make his comrade nervous. "I've been looking for a way to show Ichigo a few new things. If you'd be willing to help me with that during your next episode, I'd submit to you the next time you wanted a sex slave."

Kensai was intrigued by that. "What'd you have in mind?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," he dawdled.

"No deal then," the white-haired man resolutely replied.

"Oh, don't be like that. You know it won't be _too bad_. I don't want to freak him out, just give him a little more spice than he's used to."

"I'll think about it," Kensai curtly answered and walked away before his sliver-tongued comrade could fill his head with any more ideas.

"Happy to hear it!" Shinji called after him but decided not to pursue. The idea was there, that's all he needed at the moment.


	42. Fluff

Shinji was waiting outside his room when Hachi exited. "Thank you, Hachi-san," he said in a low voice as soon as the man emerged.

Hachi started a bit, not expecting the sudden greeting but smiled at the blonde's presence. "Ah, Shinji-san," he returned the greeting.

"So, is he…" he kept his gaze downcast so as not to reveal the intensity of his concern.

However, Hachi was very intuitive about these kinds of things and saw through the action. "I believe he'll be just fine once he wakes up. And I don't think he's any more susceptible to the addiction than he was before."

The blonde breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shinji-san, you really should be more careful," he tried.

"I know…" Shinji grumbled.

"But I suppose there's no harm done," he admitted and took his leave.

Shinji finished his relieved sigh and went back inside to find his lover still sound asleep on his bed. So, he curled up next to him and let the young man's steady heartbeat and breathing lull him to sleep.

They stirred together some time later and with mutual sighs of satisfaction.

"I'm glad you came back," Ichigo muttered into Shinji's hair.

"You know I buggered off for a bit? I'm sorry. I thought you were out cold," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Ya came back. That's all I care about." He kissed the side of his head. "Where'd ya go?"

Shinji considered for a moment. "You put ideas in my head. I couldn't just fall asleep and I knew I wouldn't be able to sit still," he confessed.

Ichigo gave a guilty and embarrassed little laugh. "I don't quite remember what I said before I fell asleep."

It took all of Shinji's self control not to grin wickedly at that admission. "You want to gang up on Kensai, remember?" he teased.

Ichigo blushed furiously and stammered.

"After thinking about it…and sobering up a bit," he admitted, "I don't think it's such a bad idea."

"You what?" Ichigo blinked stupidly.

"If you don't really want to that's fine, but you put the idea in my head," he continued teasing. "It'll take a bit to warm him up to the idea anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you."

"Why's that?"

"He distrusts his own desires and he rarely lets himself get involved with more than one person at a time…and he distrusts me sometimes," he explained.

"Oh…" Ichigo didn't particularly like the answer and he had the nagging feeling it was because he understood the feeling, often felt it himself sometimes.

"But as I said. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it," he dismissed.

Ichigo went home a short time later but he just so happened to come across Kensai on his way out. Actually, he had caught a glimpse of the stern white-haired man and decided to go out of his way to chance a conversation with him. The man seated at the base of large boulder frowned at the approach so the younger vizard didn't bother, simply continuing on his way. However, he couldn't help a backward glance and in that he noticed that the man who had been so avidly not acknowledging his presence a moment before had his eyes locked on him now. Ichigo gave a warm smile, waved, and as an after thought, he gave a quick wink before turning back to the direction of the ramp.

Kensai started and whipped his head back forward, cursing himself as a hot blush rose to his cheeks. Did Ichigo just wink at him? He gave a grumble of frustration and hopped off the rock, making his way back to Shinji.

"Kensai, do come in," Shinji ironically invited as the larger man came in without warning. He was still lazily reclined on his bed, idly playing with strands of his hair. He turned when the man didn't verbally respond. "You look upset. What's the matter?" he tried to sound disinterested.

"You're corrupting him too quickly," Kensai suddenly informed.

The directness of the accusation made Shinji's eyebrows shoot up. "I suppose shouldn't be surprised that you think that. Are you going to do something about it?"

Kensai scowled. "You know there's nothing I can do except bitch to you about it. But I can see that's not going to do any good," he turned on heal and started out.

"Don't think so little of yourself or so much of me. It was his idea to invite you into our relationship," Shinji called after his guest but didn't bother to sit up.

Kensai tensed but tried to leave again without further embarrassing himself.

"Can you imagine where he'd get such an idea as to gang up on someone while they were in need? I believe he's been spending too much time at Kisuke's myself," he continued.

"Perhaps…" The white-haired man gave a defeated grumble and exited.

That was an interesting outburst. Maybe he should try to find another place for them to fool around if it bothered the others that much. However, he had more immediate concerns, his date for the following evening and more pressingly, picking up Ichigo at his house. He didn't know why he was so nervous about it. He had been caught red-handed with the young man kissing on his bed by the outrageous father. A quick pick-up couldn't possibly be more than that, right? But he had a feeling it would, for one reason or another, become more than that. All he could do was brace himself for the worst

* * *

Luckily, Kensai managed not to wander into his bed in the middle of the night that night, leaving him to toss and turn fitfully by himself. The following morning, he paced about his room, tapping his finger on the rim of his coffee cup as he thought. It didn't take long for him to realize that because it was Saturday, he could pick the younger vizard up earlier than usual. That would certainly give a more wholesome impression that whisking him away in the cloak of night. He laughed a little at the comparison because he rarely let the time of day interfere with what he wanted to do.

Reluctantly, he went over to the waste basket and pulled out the broken cigarette. Carefully tearing the broken bit off and tossing it back, he gingerly reformed the rest as best he could and lit it. He almost immediately threw it back because of how erratic his fire kido was, flickering green and blue before settling on a cooler yellow-orange.

It only provided a handful of bitter drags and left him wholly unsatisfied. As he put the butt out on his heal, he decided that this was to be an afternoon date because he didn't want to wait any longer than that to see Ichigo.

Shinji arrived at the Kurosaki house around noon. It was a beautiful day and Ishin was practicing free throws in the driveway. He had hoped to get the first greeting in but Ishin couldn't wait until he was across the street before saying something.

"You're early," he pointed out, not letting the other man throw off his rhythm.

"We didn't set a time," Shinji carefully answered.

"You smell like an ashtray," the father commented once the other was close enough to notice.

"You smell like a locker room," Shinji taunted back.

"And I still smell better," Ishin continued the rather playful banter and passed the ball to the blonde.

Shinji caught it, if only barely, and laughing in spite of himself.

Suddenly the darker man's face grew serious. "You don't do that in front of Ichigo, do you?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

Because the question didn't have the accusing tone he was accustomed to, Shinji answered, "No, but you really shouldn't worry about that."

The compliment to his son's character, and subsequently his parenting, made Ishin's smile returned. "I just sent the kids to the store," he informed, looking off into the direction they left and when he looked back, Shinji looked very disappointed, even if he was trying to hid it. "But they should be back soon. You can stay 'til they get back if you want," he offered.

"Oh, I don't know," Shinji tried to leave, passing the ball back to the father. "I'll just come back later."

"Aw, come on," Ishin passed the ball back again, this time with a quick bounce between them.

It was Shinji's turn to show an air of concern. "Why are you doing this?" he asked with genuine curiosity, making sure to keep an accusatory tones inside his head as the other man had done.

"Why not?" Ishin shrugged.

"How about…because you threatened me for dating your son." Even Shinji was surprised by how even he was able to keep his tone.

Ishin frowned. "He's my son. What was I supposed to do? Pretend like I don't notice? Like you don't exist?"

"You didn't have to-" Shinji was finally allowing himself to become irked but he was cut off.

"I didn't know what else to do," the father confessed. "I hoped for _so long_ that he would have a normal relationship with a normal human; then he got mixed up in all that soul reaper business but I still hoped. You probably think I sound like an idiot," he motioned for the blonde to pass the ball back but he didn't.

"Well ya got me," Shinji started dribbling the ball. "But Ishin, Ichigo realized himself, on his own, that those kinds of relationships aren't the best option for him right now. As he gets older, when the war's over and we've all aged because of it, he might be able to manage it."

The frankness in the vizard's tone took Ishin aback, even more so than the dribbling. "I'm realizing that." He eyed the blonde carefully for a moment. "So, we playin' or what?"

Shinji smiled and gave a nod of affirmation, commencing their heated scrimmage.

"You're better at this than I remember," Shinji commented after a few minutes.

"The girls keep me in practice," he admitted.

They played for another few minutes before taking a break, "So, where ya takin' Ichigo tonight?"

Shinji shrugged. "I dunno. I was gunna ask him what he wanted to do. I picked last time."

Ishin nodded with mild approval. "Maybe he'll pick somewhere closer," he half-joked.

"Don't count on it," Shinji warned and when he received a questioning look in response, he continued. "Most of his friends don't know about us yet. He's still worried about people finding out."

"Does that bother you?" Ishin asked honestly.

Shinji shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I get where he's coming from." Thinking about it for a moment made him sigh.

Ishin quirked an odd little half-grin.

"What's that look for?" the blonde suddenly grew defensive.

"You really like him…don't you?"

"We wouldn't be going out on dates if I didn't," he informed curtly.

"Sorry," Ishin apologized. "I'm just-"

"Lookin' out for'em. Yeah, I get it," the blonde sighed again but before their conversation could progress any further, the Kurosaki children were nearly upon them.

When Ichigo saw that his father was no longer playing alone, he quickened his pace. "Shinji!" he called with a wave, hoping to break any sort of tension that might have come between the two standing in the driveway.

The girls came running up as well, each with an armful of groceries like their brother. "Dad, the fair's in town!" Karin began, grinning.

"Is that so?" the man smiled back.

"Ichi-ni said he'd take us after we got all this stuff put away," Yuzu added, leading the family and subsequently her brother's boyfriend inside.

Ichigo glanced over at Shinji to find that he was mildly disappointed by that development. "Ya, shoulda called," Ichigo teased. "I didn't think you were gunna be here 'til later."

"We don't have to go today," Yuzu quickly stepped in. "It's there all weekend."

"Oh, come on," Karin pleaded, "You promised."

During this dispute, Ishin was standing on the sidelines, waiting to see if they could settle it without his interference.

"Could I go to the fair with you?" Shinji suddenly asked and the three siblings stopped their discussion to give him looks of surprise.

Ishin smiled to himself.

"Really?" Ichigo finally asked.

"Sure," Shinji shrugged. "Why not?" Then he turned to the twins, "If that's okay with you."

The girls just smiled and finished putting away the groceries.

"You don't have to-" Ichigo tried again, under his breath once he was standing right next to Shinji but was interrupted.

"I don't care what we do. I just wanna spend time with you," he confessed with equal quietness.

"Ichigo, com'ere a minute," the father flagged his son into the living room as he turned on the television and pulled out his wallet. "Here," he handed his son some money, "that should be enough to get something to eat. And win your sisters somethin'," he ordered playfully, then paused. "And here," he handed him another few bills, "Don't fill up on fair food."

Ichigo accepted the offering but the last bit caused him some confusion and it played on his features as he eyed his father carefully. "What?" was all he could manage before the man wrapped his arm around him. "Ack-Dad!"

"He paid last time, right? Take'em some place nice. He's a good kid," he ruffled his son's hair and released him.

Once free, Ichigo blinked stupidly at his father for a moment and finished putting his wallet back in his pocket. "Yeah, thanks," he managed.

They left a few minutes later.


	43. Converstaions pt 4

They went to the fair and though they happened upon a couple of the teen's classmates during their little adventure, there was no issue which had both Ichigo and Shinji breathing a sigh of relief. They were both so caught up in their own relief, that they didn't notice that Yuzu, and to a lesser extent Karin, were also feeling the weight lifted.

Shinji was especially pleased because he had a certain subject he wanted to get to that evening but to his surprise, he wasn't the first to broach the subject.

Once they had made it about half way through their meal, Ichigo began, "Look, about what I said yesterday-"

Shinji cut him off with only an affectionately amused smile, "I told you not to worry about it."

Ichigo frowned but didn't continue. Instead, he looked down at his food and took another couple of bites.

Though he was glad that Ichigo would listen to him like that, his submissiveness perturbed him, especially since he could tell even more now than before that the young man had something on his mind. "What did you want to say?" he asked after a moment.

Ichigo paused for a moment to collect his thoughts again. "I don't know," he sighed. "I just still feel weird around him now. He can't even look at me now without getting that weird look in his eyes."

"He's giving you looks? You're both lucky I'm not the jealous type," Shinji teased to lighten the mood but it did very little good. Ichigo only quirked a grin for half a second and only on the corners of his lips. "What look?"

Ichigo furrowed his brows and imagined it in his mind. "It's like he can't even stand to be around me. He always looks…guilty? when I try to talk to him."

"He doesn't trust himself and he's afraid he'll do something that'll make you mad, something he'll regret," Shinji finally explained.

"He made a point of telling me that you guys don't judge each other. I thought he accepted me," Ichigo weakly complained.

"Believe me. It's because he'd already pretty well accepted you before all this started happening. And just because he tries not to judge people doesn't mean he succeeds. He's not expecting anything from you that he wouldn't expect from himself in the same position."

"I know this sounds weird…but I just wish there was a way that I could prove to him…" he trailed off.

"Prove what?" Shinji hopefully prompted.

His boyfriend's tone made Ichigo blush, "I dunno. I just wanna show him that I'm not gunna freak out or get mad at him or whatever if he acts a little weird or even really weird," he added when he remember the evening in the park, "around me sometimes. I mean, I get it."

"You don't need to tell me that you get it," Shinji gave a little wink. "You had mentioned wanting to be with him again, that you and I should-"

"I never said we _should_ do anything," Ichigo was quick to correct.

"I thought you didn't remember what you said," Shinji suspiciously reminded.

"I-Well, I don't really but even if I did say that," he tried.

"So you don't want to," Shinji attempted to surmise.

Ichigo frowned.

"What?"

"I don't know. I mean, it sounds like fun but I don't think it would help. It'd probably make matters worse," the teen slumped defeated in his chair.

"Why don't you give me the next couple months to feel him out, so to speak, and you can decide later whether or not you wanna stick it to'em. He should settle down here before too long unless one of us keeps messing with him."

"Messing with him?" Ichigo felt his stomach flip-flop.

Shinji lowered his voice and leaned a little closer to his companion, "Does 'keeps fucking' him sound better?"

Ichigo blushed furiously, "No," he managed, "it sounded better the first time."

Shinji laughed. He felt a little bad for embarrassing his young lover so much and so suddenly but his flustered expression and rosy blush was so cute that he couldn't help himself.

"Does that mean you'll stop _indulging_ him?" Ichigo suddenly asked, making sure to use the word the other had to describe the relationship.

"I don't think I'll have to worry about that much, for a while at least," Shinji half-grumbled but he was still smiling. He was surprised that the question didn't sound accusatory, rather it was a curious, compassionate inquiry.

"Why's that?" He silently hoped that someone else distracted the white-haired man and circumvented any further drama.

"I kinda made him mad on purpose yesterday. Yep, he felt pretty shitty when he walked away from me, at least by the looks of'em," he dryly informed.

That wasn't what Ichigo wanted to hear. "What'd ya do that for?"

Now the accusatory tone was there, the defensive nature of the young man emerging even though the offender was much closer to him than the victim. "It was for his own good. Fucker'd been climbin' inta my bed just about every night without even realizing it. Then he has the gal to come into my bedroom and tell me that I'm not treating you right." he complained.

Ichigo blinked stupidly as he processed the information. "He's worried about me?"

"Duh," Shinji took a drink.

"I'm more confused than ever now." Ichigo wanted to bang his head on the table.

"It's okay. I'm not sure I really understand it," Shinji admitted. "Kensai is so guarded that I don't think he really understands it either."

Ichigo appeared a little surprised by that. "Really?"

"That surprises you?"

"Well, outta all you guys, he gave the impression that he was one of the ones how had it kinda under control," Ichigo explained.

Shinji gave a knowing smile, "He's pretty good at that. Never tell him you think he's a good bluffer though because he doesn't usually realize he's doing it. Before the hollowification, he was always very reserved especially in terms of genuine affections and it's served him well. It's rare that he does anything too unusual." Ichigo gave him an odd look at that but Shinji was unwilling to elaborate on what 'too unusual' might consist of because they were still in a public place. Luckily, they were nearly finished with their meal and they could then, possibly, retreat to a more private location. "So, when he gets a crazy idea in his head he's not sure what to do with it, does that make sense."

Ichigo nodded and blushed a little. That was very similar to the reason why he'd started see in Urahara. The look didn't last because Shinji's next set of inquiries made him nearly panic.

"There is one thing I wanted to ask you," Shinji began.

"What's that?"

"That candy in the back of your desk drawer," the look of shocked recognition told him that the young man knew exactly what he was talking about.

"What about it?"

"I was wondering if you'd let me have it," he proposed vaguely.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It's not just a candy," he barely informed.

"I know what it is," Shinji dismissed.

Ichigo appeared guilty.

"I just wanna have it."

"What for?"

"To see if I can't get Kensai to be a little more honest with himself," Shinji explained as though he thought it was common sense.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

The blonde rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. "No? How come?"

Ichigo blushed again. "I don't think he'd like the idea of being drugged," he replied in a hushed voice.

Before Shinji could reply to that the waiter arrived with their check. Ichigo paid, tipped, and they left.

"I wasn't gunna ask but since you won't give it to me, how'd you get a hold of that candy anyway?"

Ichigo furrowed his brow. "I didn't know what it was before I grabbed it and forgot it was in my pocket after I found out. I didn't know what to do with it, how to get rid of it. What were you doin' snoopin' through my desk?"

"It was during our episodes. You were passed out and I didn't know what to do so I just started looking around," he confessed as they walked down the street. "I don't know what Kisuke told you but I've had'em before. They're not that bad," he informed.

"Not that bad?" Ichigo stopped and looked at his boyfriend in disbelief. "How can you say that?"

"Like I said, I've had'em before. Besides, I thought you were looking for a way to get rid of it. If you don't want to give up that one, I can probably con one off Kisuke. Though, I really didn't want to bring him into this. You know how he asks questions," Shinji feigned exasperation.

"How can you be so casual about this?" Ichigo demanded.

By this point, Shinji had led them to one of the more secluded parks in town. "I don't see why you're being so uptight."

"Because you're talking about drugging a person," Ichigo replied flatly.

"Have you ever tried one?" Shinji suddenly asked.

"Well, I-um," the teen stammered with embarrassment.

"Because if you haven't then you don't really know what you're talking about," he accused.

"I know what I'm talking about," Ichigo bitterly replied.

That caused Shinji pause. "What happened?" he suddenly asked with all seriousness.

Ichigo looked away. "It…it wasn't exactly bad…but I don't want it to happen again. I don't like someone else having that much control over me and I highly doubt Kensai would disagree with me."

"I don't want to control Kensai. I want to have an honest conversation with him. That's all."

Ichigo scoffed. "And make a few suggestions I suppose."

"I was going to leave the suggesting to him once he opened up a bit."

Ichigo still appeared unsure. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Shinji shrugged. "Forget I said anything. I just thought you'd like to find out why he's all hung up about you."

"Gimme some time to think about it," Ichigo tried and was rewarded with a genuinely affectionate smile as they sat down beneath one of the large shade trees, which concealed them in almost total darkness.

Once they were seated, they were done talking. Shinji moved in close but Ichigo finished the motion and pressed their lips together. It was only a few short minutes after that Shinji was nearly fully erect. He groaned in frustration and to his dismay, Ichigo pulled away.

"What's the matter?" Ichigo asked, a hint of mischievous knowing in his voice.

Shinji didn't want to tell Ichigo that in his experience, the effect of being addicted to someone held a far greater influence than the little candies could. So, instead, he moved even closer and allowed Ichigo to pull him into his lap.

Ichigo gave a heated grunt when Shinji began harshly playing with his nipples, signaling his desire for a slightly rougher handling than Ichigo was providing. He didn't miss the direction and gripped Shinji's hips tightly, roughly grinding their clothed erections together, and deepening the kiss.

At that receptiveness, Shinji practically melted and a few minutes later, he found himself on the verge of orgasm while his partner had just barely gained his full girth.

"Ichi-oh," he moaned a little as he pulled his hips away, knowing that any more of the delicious friction would push him over the edge.

Ichigo wouldn't have let Shinji pull away if he hadn't felt the slight pulsing in the other's slacks indicating the approach of his release. "Whoah, ha, settle down a bit," he teased.

"Oh, don't say things like that to me," Shinji pleaded as he searched his mind for a way to get off without making too much noise or mess.

Ichigo smiled warmly at the wiggling figure in his lap. "Get up on your knees," he suggested.

Shinji was taken aback by the sudden order but complied without really thinking about it. If Ichigo wanted him on his knees, that's how he would be. To his surprise, Ichigo laid back, guiding him onto his hands and knees, and slid downward until his face was even with the blonde's crotch. Without another word, he undid the older vizard's pants and pulled them, along with this underwear down only far enough to let him work.

The blonde gasped even before he felt Ichigo's mouth on his member. He had to bite his lip to not make much more noise than that. The young man working his cock was doing such a good job that he couldn't do much but try to move his hips in time with him and pray no one came along to interfere.

On the rare occasion that Ichigo got a moment to look up at Shinji, he was in near awe at what he saw. His face was taught, just like every other part of him, with impending pleasure as he strained to keep his vocal appreciations in check. He knew how difficult that was for Shinji, who was often very vocal, and appreciated the effort greatly. Another minute or so later, his revere was interrupted when Shinji came gushing into his mouth. He barely caught it all but made sure that he did, even lingering a little to nurse the stray drops that had yet to make it out of his shaft.

Shinji mewled and clawed at the grass as he came. Then, once he was done, and Ichigo had thoroughly cleaned him up, a much enjoyed courtesy, he rolled onto his side and crawled down to face his lover, a silly grin imprinted in his features.

"You didn't have to do that," he dawdle.

"I wanted to," Ichigo replied smartly.

Shinji let his hand wander to Ichigo's member, which now strained his slacks. "Now, what to do with you.

"Don't worry about me," Ichigo dismissed in a heated whisper. "I just wanted to make sure you-" he was cut off when Shinji reached into his pants.

"But you got me started, so let me finish you off," he coaxed, moving lower. He was dizzy both from his release and his lover's anticipation. He licked his lips as he started to unveil his prize.

Ichigo didn't realize that he was leaning over his lover until his hands were running up and down the other's back. By then, Shinji had fully engulfed him and was sucking and fondling him with such erotic intent that he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shinji had been momentarily disappointed by the fact that Ichigo hadn't leaned backward instead, so he could further invade the young man's pants and tease the pucker that tempted him so. However, that quickly took a backseat to the feeling of Ichigo wrapping himself around him in a feeble attempt to gain as much physical contact as possible.

Ichigo mumbled a few curses a minute later as he spilled himself into the eager mouth giving him so much pleasure. Shinji swallowed, licked his lips, and withdrew. The orange-haired vizard sat back for a second to gather his senses before putting his pants back on. As he did, and Shinji attempted to do the same, he noticed that the older was again partially erect.

"What's this?" he asked reaching a hand out to the length.

Shinji jerked away and stumbled to the ground. "D-Don't, please." When Ichigo appeared hurt, even disappointed, he tried again, "Thank you but, any more and I won't make it home."

"I didn't realize. I shoulda waited to get you then," Ichigo surmised.

Shinji shook his head and smiled, "No, you did just fine…" he finished fumbling with his pants enough to be dressed and slowly sat up.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked when the little light present caught his lover's eyes and revealed his dazed expression.

"I'm good. Very good. You?" he suddenly remembered Ichigo's reaction to their last encounter.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head nervously. "Good. I think," he tried to stand and though it was a little more difficult to keep his balance than he was used to, he did a good job of staying on his feet. He reached a helpful hand out to Shinji, which was readily accepted and they walked off the majority of their buzz before Ichigo dropped Shinji off at the warehouse and went home.


	44. Conversations pt 5

"Oh, Ichigo! What a surprise! You haven't been by in so long, I thought you'd forgotten about me," the shopkeeper in green teased.

Ichigo grumbled a greeting of his own. "You got a minute?"

"You have something on your mind?"

"I just wanna ask you about somethin'," he curtly replied.

Intrigued, Urahara summoned Tessai to watch the shop while he made tea for his guest.

"What would you like to ask of me?" he asked hopefully as he poured.

"Those candies that I ate that day," he began but lost his words.

"What about them?"

"I have one and I don't know what to do with it," he confessed.

Suddenly, the shopkeeper appeared serious. "You should give it back to me."

"Why? So you can use it on someone else?" the teen accused.

"Not necessarily. I was going to destroy it."

"Really?" Ichigo blinked stupidly, he'd been expecting a fight on that front.

"Well, the results of that batch were something of a failure," he informed.

Ichigo obviously didn't believe that. "Seemed to work pretty good if you ask me," he scoffed.

That made Urahara laugh, "A little too good, in fact. I already got rid of the rest of them and made a better batch."

"Oh." Now that was something that Ichigo could believe. But now he was in something of a pickle. He looked to see if anyone else was around.

"I know that look, Kurosaki. What's on your mind?"

Ichigo blushed. "Can I trade out the one I have then?"

Shock played on the shopkeeper's features for a moment. "Why would you want to do that?"

"What's it matter? It's none of your business."

"Actually, it is quite literally my business since I am a candy proprietor."

"Shinji wanted it," he carefully replied.

If Kisuke's curiosity hadn't been piqued before, that would have done it. "I can see why you wouldn't want to give him defective merchandise. Why does he want it?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Ichigo resolutely replied. "Will you trade me?"

Without another word, the shopkeeper stood and left. He went to the back room and returned a few minutes later with a candy that look remarkably similar to the one he already had.

"They look the same. How do I know you're not just tricking me?"

"If I was going to trick you, I'd give you a placebo," he advised. When the young man still appeared unconvinced, he added, "You can always try it yourself to make sure."

"No thanks," Ichigo took the replacement and put it in his pocket.

"How come you waited so long to tell me you stole that anyway?" Kisuke wondered.

"I didn't steel it," Ichigo defended. "You were gunna make me pay for'em all anyway. You _did_ make me pay for'em. As far as I'm concerned, you were over paid."

"I suppose…I just wish I knew what you had in mind for that piece of candy. I can't help but be concerned when I don't know how someone intends to use such a delicate piece of merchandise."

Ichigo still appeared reluctant but he caved, "He wants to talk to Kensai."

"Talk, right," Kisuke dismissed.

"That's what I said," Ichigo laughed a little.

"Then why bother?"

"In case he actually wants to talk to'em," he admitted.

Kisuke gave a nod of understanding. "I suppose that now that you have what you came for, you'll be leaving just as quickly as you left."

Ichigo frowned at that. "Sorry I haven't been around lately," he tried.

"It's quite alright. I understand that you're a very busy young man," he feigned innocence.

Ichigo saw through it and gave a dismissive grumble.

"What?" Kisuke couldn't help pressing.

"I was just thinking that if I was going to give this to anyone. It'd be you," he teased.

The shopkeeper was again surprised by his young guest. "And why is that?"

Ichigo finished tea, stood, and said good-bye.

"But you didn't answer my question. That's very rude you know," the older man scolded.

Ichigo still appeared reluctant to divulge the motivation behind the stray thought.

"I bet you just want to do terrible things to me, to get your revenge," he teased, fanning himself for effect.

"Tch. You wish. But it would be nice not to get the run around from you, to get a straight answer every once in a while," he admitted.

"I'm afraid you'd like those answers even less than the ones already give you."

* * *

A couple months passed with decreasing sexual tension and once Shinji was sure he wouldn't immediately have his head bitten off, he approached Kensai. The larger man's episode was nearing but he wasn't showing any of the outward signs yet. Carefully, Shinji sat down across from Kensai, setting a piece of candy in front of him.

"What's this?" Kensai asked, obviously unsure of the offering.

"An icebreaker. If you don't want it," he reached for the sweet but Kensai took the bait and snatched it off the table.

"So," he asked as he unwrapped the candy, as Shinji had taken the time to wrap it up in a tootsie roll wrapper, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk for a minute. We never talk anymore," he playfully feigned distress.

Kensai laughed at the tone, "That's 'cause you're out gallivanting around with that young man."

Shinji laughed in return, his caused by the other man's use of the word gallivanting. "I suppose. But you asked that we not entertain ourselves here, remember?"

The white-haired man recalled his implication and was mildly surprised that Shinji had taken it into consideration, rather that rubbing it in his face. "Yeah…thanks. So, what's up?" he asked, popping the candy into his mouth and chewing it slowly, making sure to enjoy it.

"Your next episode…have you thought about what you wanna do?"

Kensai eyed the man across from him with marked suspicion which passed after a moment. "I dunno…"

"You know you shouldn't put it off," Shinji chided playfully.

"Like I need advice from you," Kensai teased back.

"That's good because you know I give terrible advice."

They both got a good laugh out of that.

"I really…don't know what I want though…"Kensai grumbled.

"Really?" Shinji sounded genuinely surprised. "You've looked like you've had a lot on your mind lately. I figured you'd thought of _something_."

"What do you care?" Kensai tried not to snap at the other man's persistance.

"Well, if you haven't thought of anything…then my offer must look pretty good," he slyly replied.

Kensai wrinkled his nose to hide his slight blush. "You left me alone about it this long, why bring it up again now?"

Shinji shrugged. "I'd still like to show'em a thing or two and he trusts you a lot more than Kisuke…though I'm sure he'd be willing to lend a hand."

Kensai's frown deepened. If he thought that Shinji being with Ichigo was bad, the two blondes together should have been out of the question. "What'd you have in mind?" Kisuke reluctantly indulged. "Now that you've had some time to think about it, I'm sure you have something in mind."

Shinji tried not to smile too wide because he knew how nervous it made his comrade. "I dunno, maybe dress ya up a bit, no too much, nothing fancy. Maybe tie ya up a little."

"You know I hate dress up games," Kensai grumbled.

"Only when you're the one who has to dress up. Besides, you know how long clothes stay on in those situations," Shinji dismissed.

"What makes you think he'd go for that?"Kensai asked suspiciously.

"I don't know if he'll go for it. He may hate it," Shinji shrugged.

"Then what?" the white-haired man grumbled. Being on the ass-end of that, no pun intended, would make him feel worse that he wanted to think.

"He'd probably undress you if he didn't like it. Then you're just a lightly bound Kensai. I'm sure he wouldn't mind that very much," Shinji casually reasoned.

"And if I go along with this…then you'll…" Kensai made a vague hand motion instead of finishing his sentence.

"Then I'll be indebted to you and you'll be free to call in the favor however you choose."

Kensai liked the sound of that. "No tricks?"

"Not once you've held up your end."

Kensai fell silent for a few long moments, lost in his own thoughts, which Shinji was willing to let him sift through. After a minute or so, he stood and started to wander off.

"Hey, where ya goin'?" Now the blonde was put off by the lack of response.

"I gotta think. I'm gunna grab a beer. Be right back, I promise."

Shinji tensed for a moment. "Um, here. You sit. I'll get it for you," he offered, guiding his friend back to his seat and going off in the direction of the refrigerator. He breathed a sigh of relief at having avoiding something that might very well have ruined his chances of clinching the deal in addition to giving him away. He retrieve a lite beer, drank a few swallows, filled it back up with water, and returned to is comrade.

Kensai noticed that it wasn't as strong as he'd hoped for but blamed it on the fact that it was lite beer to begin with. "Coulda at least got me somethin' with some oomph," he half-teased, feeling his muscles relax nonetheless.

"I didn't want you to think I wanted your judgment impaired," Shinji covered and breathed a silent sigh of relief when the other man appeared to like that answer.

"I dunno. It's tempting," Kensai admitted.

"So what's the problem?"

"Shinji, he's a good kid," he tried.

"Doing this won't make him any less good," Shinji pointed out.

Kensai frowned as though he didn't entirely believe that.

"Is that why you won't even hardly talk to him anymore?" Shinji suddenly accused, but somehow managed his rather playful tone in the process.

Kensai looked away, rather nervous.

"It bugs the hell outta him ya know," Shinji pointed out, this time less playful.

"It'd be worse if I just tried to act like he doesn't get to me," Kensai argued.

"Naw. That'd bug'em just as much. He'd rather you behave however you pleased."

"That's what he says but he doesn't want me hanging all over him."

Shinji's smile returned. "You wouldn't go that far."

The words, 'Wanna bet?', beamed from Kensai's eyes but he didn't have it in him to actually say them.

"I didn't realize you could be that attracted to somebody," Shinji half-teased.

"Don't gimme that crap. I was sleepwalking into your bed at night for a while there, remember?"

"How could I forget? But I was encouraging you. I doubt Ichigo would lead you on the way I do," the blonde reasoned.

"He doesn't have to. He's-" Kensai suddenly stopped mid-sentence and eyed the man seated casually across from him.

"He's what?" Shinji asked with nearly bated breath but it appeared that Kensai was unwilling to answer which intrigued Shinji almost as much as the fact that the sentence had nearly been spoken in the first place.

"Damn it," Kensai swore quietly, banging his fist on the table and taking another few swallows. "From the minute I saw that kid…I knew he was trouble," he informed. "I just didn't think it'd be like this," he almost laughed at the thought. "I really hoped he wouldn't have to deal with this shit."

"You avoiding him doesn't help him any, you know," Shinji pointed out.

Kensai didn't really react to that, which somewhat surprised the blonde.

"But now that he does, as you say, have to deal with this shit, you're not doing anybody any favors by behaving the way you are."

The larger man rolled his eyes. "I'm into doing favors."

"We're discussing a favor at the moment and you appear to be seriously considering it," the blonde reminded.

"Aren't you afraid of ruining him?" Kensai suddenly asked the direct question that had been plaguing him ever since he found out about their relationship and even more so after his own encounters with the young man.

"Ruining him?" Shinji scoffed, nearly laughed at the question. "He'll sooner ruin me," he half-joked. "I think he'd be very insulted if he heard you say he could be _ruined_ so easily, well, even more insulted."

"It's just…He's so right the way he is. I don't want to mess that up and I know he'd hate to hear that so I hope you never tell him."

Shinji nodded in a silent promise. "He's stronger than you think. I think he'd surprise you if you gave him half a chance."

That made Kensai laugh. "I know he's strong and he's already surprised me more than I think I care for."

"Then what's the problem?" Shinji tried not to demand.

Kensai shook his head in spite of himself. It was more to help him clear his head than anything else, but it didn't really seem to work. "I'm kinda tired. Can we finish this later?" he asked, swirling the remaining third of his beer in the can as he spoke.

"We can finish it now if you just say yes and let yourself have a little fun," Shinji tried.

Kensai laughed again. He was receptive enough at this point to not only understand the other's verbal coaxing but also take in some of the details of his demeanor that gave away his mood. He could tell his fair friend was anxious but hopeful, impatient but persistent. "Why're you pushin' this so hard? You're usually a lot more subtle," he observed.

"You dislike it when I'm subtle and like I said before, it was his idea," he reasoned.

Kensai blushed at the statement. "Yeah, you mentioned that," he grumbled.

"Does that surprise you?"

He shifted uncomfortably.

"Really?" Shinji tried not to laugh. "Come on, why wouldn't he?"

"Why would he?"

"I dunno…I always thought he was humoring me," he guiltily replied.

Shinji felt a slight pang of pity for his old comrade but didn't let it show. "So are we on, or what?"

Kensai hesitated.

"I plan to make it a point to make his nose bleed when he sees you."

Kensai still didn't reply but this time it was because he was stunned.

"Oh yes, no more of this us showing off for you business. It's _your_ episode. _You_ will be the center of attention."

Kensai nodded rather stupidly, his mind now drifting to less wholesome thoughts. "Okay…I'm in…"

"Good. Now you look beat, go get some rest. I'll wake you up for dinner."

Kensai pushed the remainder of his beer across to his friend and retreated to his bed.


	45. K san

Kensai's episode started late one morning about a week after his talk with Shinji and the blonde didn't miss a beat. As soon as he was sure of Kensai's condition, which had now begun to show itself outwardly through the flush on the man's skin, his inability to hold a decent conversation, and near constant fidgeting.

"Kensai, come on," he nodded to the shack after the fourth time their conversation had deteriorated and started to stand.

Kensai hesitated because he had been only a moment away from taking his friend by the wrist and leading him that way himself. It made him realize, as he had often realized in these kinds of situations whether he was directly involved or not, that Shinji's sexual intuition intimidated him. He very much disliked the idea of someone having a better idea what he wanted than he did even if it did have its advantages.

"No sense in putting it off," Shinji reminded, pulling the white-haired man from his thoughts again.

This time, Kensai nodded in affirmation and they went off together. As they entered, he spoke. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," he grumbled, shifting with obvious self consciousness.

"Talking had very little to do with it," Shinji teased, closing the door behind them, and when he received a suspicious look in response, he turned them around pinning his comrade to the door.

Kensai held out until those welcoming lips were centimeters from his own, even through having their bodies suddenly pressed together, before wrapping his arms around the lithe blonde and finishing the motion with a kiss. Shinji matched his pace until he moaned into the smaller man's mouth, grinding their hips together and nearly spilling himself in his pants. Then, Shinji started to move forward in the form of moving his hands from caressing the darker man's sides to unfasten his pants.

The few rude nudges that his member received during this disrobing almost pushed him over the edge again and he moaned wantonly again because of it. Shinji recognized that tone and the twitching of the hard length he pursued and his smile widened.

"If I try to go down on you, you're just gunna cum on my face, huh?" he teased hopefully.

Kensai's initial response was a dangerous growl followed by a look of impatience. He'd already lost his words and the anxiety from that only served to further impede his verbal communication.

Shinji gave a nod of understanding and fell to his knees. If he'd been any slower in engulfing the head in his mouth, he would have been right. Swallowing his reward, he rose again, leaving his partner largely unfulfilled, and led them to the bed.

Had Shinji not been leading them to the bed, Kensai would have simply pinned him to the ground at that point, especially after such a cruel withdrawal. As it were, he was rather pleased and followed eagerly, giving a pleased little whine when Shinji started to jerk him off as they undressed each other. During this, he did spill some on their clothes but at this point, neither cared.

After his third release and they were fully nude, Kensai was able to speak again. "Ah, Shinji…stop for a sec," he advised between heated gasps.

"Oh," Shinji pouted, "But you're still all hard," he continued, nearly whining.

"My head's spinnin'," the white-haired man confessed, bringing one hand up to cradle his temple.

Shinji gave a nod of understanding and backed off. He didn't realize that Kensai could still react to his raietsu that way. Because of his time with Ichigo, he only felt a fraction of the attraction and desire that he would have normally. That extra bit of sense gave him a feeling of victory. "Then may I start to get you ready for our guest?" he asked hopefully.

Kensai frowned slightly. "Sure. Go 'head I guess."

"You're just too self conscious," Shinji dismissed his friend's anxiety.

"I can't help that! Consciousness…awareness…without those we're just animals," Kensai answered.

Shinji giggled foolishly.

"What?" Kensai sounded very put off by the laughter. The subject of self awareness in relation to the things they did, episodes or otherwise, was something he'd spent a fair amount of time contemplating. On top of that, he had been rather pleased by how well he'd phrased his response after not being able to form actual words, let alone full thoughts, for so long.

"Kensai, you never told me you were a mind reader," Shinji mused.

The episodic man's heart skipped a beat, which due to the condition, felt like his heart had stopped. "What do you mean by that?" He searched his response for any clues but came up with none.

"You'll see," Shinji teased.

Kensai was still apprehensive but the mischievous look of lust in Shinji's eyes made him wonder and he watched carefully as the first item of his costume was revealed to him. Unfortunately, it was the binding part, revealing very little about the sly man's further intent.

As he returned to the bed, Shinji paused for a moment to appraise the feverish man half reclined on the bed and frowned.

"What?" the white-haired man demanded, shifting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me. I thought you trusted me." Because for Shinji, this wasn't about getting to play with his friend as it was testing the boundaries of their relationship.

Kensai faltered. He hadn't meant to be off-putting but his emotions were so readily seen on his features that it couldn't be helped.

"You told me once that you trusted me with your life," he slowly drew closer.

"I-I do…this is different," the flustered man managed.

Shinji gave an unnervingly gentle smile. "So you trust me with your life but not your pride…or your pleasure." The look he received told him he nailed it. "Don't look so concerned."

"Easy for you to say…" Then, Kensai got a good look at what Shinji was carrying back to him. It was a collar and cuff set. "What's that for?"

"For you, of course. Hold out your hands," he ordered casually.

Kensai hesitated. "The ties are too short," he argued when he noticed that the cuffs were tethered to the collar by a line just under a foot long.

"They're supposed to be that way so you can't touch yourself," he elaborated plainly. "Bear with me, please."

The episodic man reluctantly complied and was rewarded by having the blonde orally pleasure him until his member was all but soft. Then, once he lay panting and largely spent, Shinji withdrew to gather a few other accessories.

Seeing how dazed his comrade was, he took the opportunity to roll him over and prop him up on his knees. The man in his service made a small sound of satisfaction when he began to massage his puckered opening with a light oil. When Kensai started to grow hard again, he spoke, "I'm going to put something inside you," he warned.

Kensai silently prayed that Shinji meant himself but he had the sneaking suspicion that was not the case. This suspicion was confirmed when he felt hard plastic pushing into him. In spite of the pleasure, he tried not to push back. He didn't know what it was and he was almost afraid to look. This fear was replaced by more pleasure and he buried his face in the blankets as the man behind him slowly worked the length in and out, a little more each time. However, this fun was cut short when he felt the object inside him settle into place once fully sheathed within him, rather than keep moving in and out. "What the hell?" he grumbled. The attention had been almost enough to make him cum again.

"I'm helping you get in touch with your inner animal," Shinji finally answered.

Kensai gave an indignant growl.

"That's right…" the blonde coaxed, brushing the furry tail against the back of the other man's thighs.

Kensai's eyes shot open and he looked down between his legs, which had been spread far enough apart that he didn't accidentally sense the full accessory until it was already in place. He tried to get into a better position but because of his bindings and Shinji's already the obviously superior position, he was knocked onto his side. He was about to protest but there was an eager and experienced mouth on his member and he was coming again.

When Shinji finally pulled back, after about a minute of the larger man's protests concerning the dizziness he was experiencing, Kensai took a moment to look down at what had been done to him. He'd never really been one for butt-plugs in the first place so to have one with a long, white cat tail attached was absolutely absurd. "Why me?" he whined to himself as Shinji presented a headband with white cat ears.

"You should be more considerate, K-san, I had to special order that white tail."

Kensai rolled his eyes with indignation.

"I could have just gotten the bunny tail, it only comes in white and it's very cute. White bunny ears would have been easier to find too," he informed.

Kensai felt his stomach turn. Cat was a step up from bunny.

"Or I could have just gone with dog." He quirked an odd grin when Kensai frown deepened at that, "Make you lift your leg to pee too," he added and received a look of absolute disgust. "Or a horse perhaps? Bridle, bit, saddle, and all. I could ride you around," he couldn't help continuing.

"Stop!" Kensai suddenly shouted. "This is fine…I guess."

Shinji's genuine smile returned. "I'm glad you see this my way." Once the ears were set, he withdrew a black pencil from his pocket and lifted the other man's chin.

"What's that?" Kensai tried not to fight the blonde's motions but he couldn't help it.

"Lisa let me borrow her eyeliner. Hold still," he advised.

Kensai was so glad that it wasn't being applied to his eyes that he only realized that Shinji was drawing whiskers on his cheeks after the first side was done. When it was finished, he grumbled but tried not to complain.

"Purrrfect," Shinji actually purred much to the annoyance of the other.

"I don't think Ichigo's gunna like this," he informed in an unusually small voice.

"Shut up and fuck me you sexy kitty," Shinji ordered, going down onto his elbows and knees.

Kensai's eye twitched and he looked at Shinji, dumbfounded, for about half a second before his body took over and he was on top of the thin blonde. Because of the way he was bound, he had to put his hands on Shinji's shoulders and blindly search for the opening. Luckily, Shinji was willing to guide him in that and was bucking and moaning almost as soon as the man above him.

Shinji's body was so hot and responsive to his every movement, and tighter than he expected. He wasn't sure if that was due to his condition or if the blonde had been abstaining from that pleasure for some reason. Not that it mattered. The few brain cells he had left to wonder about that were quickly fried when the overwhelming urge to bite his partner came over him. It made him falter but only slightly and not enough for Shinji to notice through the other erratic movements. He'd never really felt that way before and he blamed Shinji for it. So it only seemed right that he give the blonde the painful reward for having cultivated such a feeling.

Without another thought, Kensai opened his mouth and descended the short distance to the most accessible piece of the blonde's flesh he could reach. It happened to be the side of his neck. His teeth clamped down hard on the muscle beneath the skin, threatening to tear. He felt as well as heard Shinji's sharp gasp and bit harder, breaking the skin. The taste of his friend's blood on his tongue made Kensai's give a little growl, nothing threatening, almost playful or endeared, and he felt his brain short circuit.

Shinji felt the body above him almost stop moving but it was obviously still in need of attention, so he rolled Kensai over and mounted him. There was a vacant animalistic look in the other man's eyes that he'd rarely seen before and never to this degree. As he rose and feel, he brought a hand to the side of his neck, smearing some of the blood that had budded from the wound. "You bit me," he marveled.

Kensai felt a pang of guilt in the back of his consciousness but that was all, he could still taste the fluid on his lips and teeth and licked them clean and the blonde continued to ride him into unconsciousness.

Shinji smiled at his prize as he cleaned them up. When that was finished, he pulled out his phone. It took him a moment to remember how to do it, but after a few tries, he took a picture of the passed out man. He looked absolutely adorable and too sexy for his own good.

A moment later, Ichigo received a picture message on his phone. He'd been on his way to the movies with his friends to catch the matinee and almost didn't answer it. Only when he saw that it was from Shinji did he check to see what it was. He almost dropped his phone at what he saw.

Tatsuke noticed the bugged out eyes and rising blush of her friend and whipped around to see what had caused such a reaction. To her dismay, Ichigo had already moved on. "I-I gotta go. Sorry guys." He stammered, starting to dial Shinji's number.

"What? But you've been looking forward to this all week?" Tatsuke argued, the others quickly agreeing.

"I know. Sorry. My treat next time, k?" he managed and breathed a sigh of relief when they let him go. Once out of ear shot, he pushed call.

"Hello?" Shinji asked in a quiet and sweet voice.

"What the hell?" Ichigo demanded.

"I thought it would be pretty self explanatory."

Ichigo fell silent.

"You wanted to try new things," Shinji reminded.

"But-I-Well-" he stammered, though he was already on his way.

"He'll be terribly disappointed if you don't come," Shinji pouted.

"R-Really?" Ichigo managed.

"Well of course. I don't know how much longer he'll be out."

"I'm already on my way," Ichigo informed, his tone speaking of defeat even though the quick glimpse of the picture he'd received already had him intrigued and excited.


	46. Sexual Theory

"There are different kinds of domination," Shinji explained one afternoon during a discussion that started with Ichigo mentioning that he might like to try a few new things. The look he received in response to that statement prompted him to continue. "Well there's the straight forward kind, where the dominant uses the submissive however they please. Depending on how compliant the submissive is, there can be either physical or psychological domination, or both. I find a combination of the two the most intriguing."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Psychological?" he repeated with marked interest in spite of his embarrassment.

"When you get inside someone's head and control them that way," he elaborated.

"And that's straight forward?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"Pretty much."

"Then what else is there?"

Shinji pursed his lips in a moment of thought before answering. "Well, unless the dominant is purely selfish, that's not usually how it works. Usually, the submissive has at least as much control over the situation as the dominant."

"That doesn't make sense," Ichigo complained.

"Think about it for a moment," Shinji patently advised, "If a dominant is trying to solicit a specific reaction and the submissive doesn't react the way they want, it's usually the dominant's failure. Ideally, both parties want to take part in the encounter and each play their roll. So if they're there for mutual pleasure and the submissive isn't enjoying themselves, everything breaks down."

Ichigo shook his head in disbelief as he tried to process the information.

"It's difficult to explain," Shinji frowned.

"I think I get it but where does that leave us and Kensai. You sound like you want to dominate him. I don't know if he'd appreciate that," Ichigo reasoned.

"Well," Shinji thought for another moment, "the last time I dominated him it was almost purely physical. I mean, I messed with his head a bit, but yeah, I just kept him restrained so I could do what I wanted with him."

"So you were a selfish dominant," Ichigo rudely surmised.

"He approached me," Shinji reminded, "and willingly submitted. I say I physically restrained him but for the most part he could get out of it."

"Then it was psychological," the teen tried again.

"Both of your answers are probably right. But the point is that I'd rather tie him up less and mess with his head more this time."

It appeared that Ichigo didn't really like that idea. "Does it even have to be domination at all?"

"It doesn't _have to be_ anything but you should understand that regardless of intent or restraints, every relationship operates this way. It just becomes a matter of degree."

"Even our relationship?" Ichigo asked, practically holding his breath waiting for the answer.

Shinji gave a sigh. "Yes, even our relationship."

"Who's dominant then?" he pressed, silently praying that his unawareness to the dynamic didn't automatically make him submissive.

"That depends on how you look at it."

Ichigo didn't really like that answer.

"Emotionally, you dominate our relationship," Shinji offered.

The affirmation of his dominance tasted a little more bitter than he expected but before he could say anything, Shinji continued.

"I'm sexually dominant," the blonde added with an undertone of triumph and then stopped to turn and take a look at his young lover. "And physically…we take turns," he managed.

"I guess we're even then," Ichigo blushed a little.

"Pretty much."

"So what about Kensai?"

"I think it would be ideal if he were submissive to both of us," Shinji reasoned plainly.

"I bet you do," Ichigo teased.

"Well, if part of your motivation is to prove to him that you can handle yourself as well as him, there really isn't a better approach."

"I don't know if I can mess with his head," Ichigo tried. Mind games were not on the top of Ichigo's tactic list in any situation.

"You can leave that to me. Once I get started, all you have to do is follow my lead," he advised.

"Then Kensai and I are both submissive to you," Ichigo pointed out.

"Well we already decided that you're sexually submissive to me," Shinji teased to see the crimson blush flare on his boyfriend's cheeks, "But seriously, you catch on so fast that I doubt you'll need my direction for long."

After that, Ichigo tried to pry some of the details of Shinji's plan and the results of his conversation with Kensai from him but to no avail. He was told, he would simply have to wait for the surprise.

* * *

And what a surprise it was. Ichigo was making his way down the warehouse ramp a few minutes after his phone call with Shinji. The vizards who greeted him seemed unfazed by his presence and motioned him toward the shack. His blush grew as he approached the door. He wasn't sure if he should knock. He wanted desperately to peek into a window to see what he was getting himself into but to his dismay there was a conspicuous lack of windows. Figuring that he would be happy for that once inside, he brought his hand to the doorknob and hesitated. Should he knock? There didn't seem much point. So, he carefully turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

What he saw made him speechless for a moment. Kensai was still dressed up as in the photo he'd received but instead of being sprawled out on the bed, he was curled up in a ball with his head resting on Shinji's lap. His boyfriend greeted him with a grin.

"I wish he could see that expression," Shinji quietly informed, slipping out from beneath the larger sleeping man.

"Shinji, I-" Ichigo started but he wasn't sure where to go from there.

Shinji crawled to the edge of the bed and offered a welcoming motion. "Come on, with both of us here, he won't be out much longer," he advised.

"What am I supposed to do?" Ichigo asked stupidly, almost unable to tear his gaze from the sleeping form.

"Whatever you please," Shinji informed, pulling him close just in time to hear Kensai grumble. "He's the kitty and you're the catnip."

"Nnngh…mmm…nnn," he groaned as he awoke.

"K-san, Ichi-kun's here," Shinji informed in a gentle voice.

Kensai whined as he felt the presence of the other and the fact that he was still decked out like a feline.

"You woke up just in time. I was about to ask," Shinji turned back to Ichigo, "Do you like what you see?"

Kensai tensed; he didn't want to look at the young man because of his embarrassment but because Shinji had made such a point of letting him know how much that bothered Ichigo, he forced himself to make eye contact. He felt strange laying down while the other two were sitting up on the bed so he tried to sit up as well.

The white-haired man's skin was flushed and his movement revealed his returned erection as Ichigo took him for a moment. Ichigo saw the uncertainty playing in Kensai's eyes and knew that the wrong answer would make things even more awkward than they already were. He nodded stupidly and felt his own arousal engorge further. He didn't realize it until Shinji brought his hand up to wipe his nose that it had started to bleed.

The blonde gave a look of victory at the promise fulfilled. Kensai bit his lip and shuddered at the feeling of Ichigo letting go of the tight reigns on his sexual energy. The white-haired man felt compelled to touch the young man but his restraints prevented him from doing so without moving closer.

"Ichi-kun, it's not nice to tease the kitty. Why don't you play with him for a bit?" Shinji backed off and motioned toward the episodic man.

Without another word, Ichigo found himself moving closer to Kensai, reaching his hands out to steady him and pull him close.

"He didn't let you play with him very much last time so I hope you can help make up for that," Shinji continued in a teasing tone.

Ichigo gave another nod of half-acknowledgement before their bodies were flush and they were kissing. Their kiss, hot and feverish, made him remember something that Kensai had told him once, that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they kissed. From the kiss that Kensai was giving him, he could tell that this man had been teased to veritable extremes and that he wanted Ichigo very badly. It was strange, he thought that in such a state, it would have been a desire for any warm, helpful body but he got the impression that Kensai wanted him specifically.

Kensai's bound hands grasped the collar of Ichigo's shirt and pulled anxiously. Realizing that he might get his clothes ripped off if he didn't comply, he pulled back for one agonizing moment to pull his shirt up over his head. It was almost off his arms before Kensai knocked him over onto his back and practically pounced on him. He groped what he could reach with his mouth and hands, concentrating on the young man's chest, making sure that he was wiggling beneath him before trying to move lower.

At that aggressive move, Shinji stood and started to put his pants on. Neither noticed until he was almost to the door.

"Wh-Where are you going?" Kensai breathlessly inquired, not diverting his attention from the body beneath him any more than that.

"I'm going to lunch, though it's a bit late for lunch now. Ichi-kun, please keep K-san entertained until I return." Then, before any more could be asked of him, he exited. However, he didn't go very far. He spent the next several minutes listening to the door for any bad signs before actually giving into his growling stomach.

The only sounds that could be heard after the blonde's departure were those of pleasure. For Ichigo, it felt as though Kensai was tasting every sensitive bit of his torso in his quest downward to the tent in his pants. Unconsciously, he found himself petting the white-haired man's wiry hair careful not to disturb the cute ears. Kensai moaned in spite of himself at the attention.

"Ichi-go," Kensai mumbled, obviously dazed by the introduction of the new raietsu, when he got to the top of Ichigo's pants.

"I can't believe you let him do this to you," Ichigo muttered in return as he obliged by unfastening his fly.

Kensai's blush deepened. "Me neither." Then a thought occurred to him when he first caught sight of the orange pubic hair he knew he would soon have his nose in. "You're just lucky that an orange tail is probably harder to find than a white one."

Ichigo blushed at the insinuation but before he could reply, Kensai was lapping eagerly at his length. Because of his bindings, he rested a hand on either of the young man's thighs as he worked, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt Ichigo's energy pushing against his once again.

"K-Kens…" Ichigo tried between moans. "You want me to take that stuff off?" he asked hoping for a distraction to keep him from coming.

Kensai looked up with glassy eyes at the young man. "I don't care. I just wanna get off," he informed between gasps.

"Then suckin' me off's not gunna do ya much good," Ichigo sat up and tried to pull Kensai away from his member.

"Wanna bet?" Kensai challenged. "You cum hard enough, I'll feel it too," he informed.

Ichigo gave a look of understanding that the white-haired man didn't expect as he recalled doing something similar to that to Shinji during their episode together. "Is that what _you_ want?" he asked carefully.

The episodic man gave a weak nod and Ichigo laid back again, which worked out well because the feeling of Kensai's mouth on his member caused him to arch his back and roll his head from side to side. This man had a slightly different technique than he was used to. The white-haired man took him in long deep sucks, making sure to swallow once each time he fully engulfed the young man.

"Mmm-nngh, Kensss…" he trailed off trying to not to come too easily. His efforts only lasted another minute or so before he couldn't stop himself, the moan the other man gave seeming to lengthen his release just as much as the fact that he'd pulled the feverish man over the edge with him.

As the limp member slipped from his lips, Kensai moaned the younger vizard's name again, this time articulate enough for it to be understood. Without further provocation, Ichigo carefully slid downward until his face was even with Kensai's still dripping length.

Kensai had been hoping for a second to catch his breath but couldn't argue when Ichigo started to orally service him. Instead, his attention became focused on not mouth fucking the young man too hard. Though, this effort didn't last long.

After the second time the head in his mouth hit the back of his throat, making him gag, Ichigo reached up and started to play with the tail that had been teasing him ever since he'd entered, well, really since he'd received the photo earlier that afternoon. Simply stroking it move the portion anchoring it inside the larger man, making him wiggle his hips and push back enough to give Ichigo the extra breathing room he desire. But he couldn't stop there. Before long, he was offering light tugs on the accessory and then brining the furry end up to tickle Kensai's balls.

Shinji returned somewhere in the middle of this and was greatly pleased by what he saw. In his mind, Kensai almost always looked good on all fours but to see him practically howling from the attention he was receiving from the orange-haired vizard between his legs made Shinji's nose bleed. Carefully, he made his way over to the bed and started removing the remainder of his young lover's clothing, shoes, socks, pants, and underwear.

During his disrobing, Ichigo offered what little he could in the way of assistance but in the process he pulled on Kensai's tail almost too hard and not exactly straight out either. The feverish man gave a grunt of discomfort.

"Oh, Ichi," Shinji cooed, placing a steady hand on the one already on the tail. "It's not nice to pull a kitty's tail…unless he's been a bad kitty," he teased.

Ichigo didn't answer but Kensai did in the form of shaking his head no with marked emphasis. The last thing he wanted was to receive punishment as a cat. He didn't look to see if it was noticed but since Shinji didn't seem inclined to further that discussion, he reasoned, with what little reason he had left, that it was sufficient.

Shinji just smiled and got out the lube. The moan that tore through Ichigo, muffled only by the length in his mouth, when he started to tease the young vizard's entrance surprised all three of them but none saw fit to say anything about it, Ichigo because he was quite busy, Kensai because it had caused him to cum again, and Shinji because he was awestruck. The blonde didn't waste much time. Once he was sure his lover was sufficiently lubricated, he coaxed him out from beneath the larger man.

Kensai gave a groan of frustration at the abandonment but only until Shinji came around and lifted him up onto his knees. Something was on the way that he didn't want to impeded. What it was, he wasn't sure but the look that Shinji was giving him told him that it would be good.

Once the white-haired man was steady on his knees, Shinji motioned for Ichigo to come around. "Ichi-kun, I think K-san wants-no deserves more than your sweet mouth."

Ichigo blushed because he knew what was coming next. So, without having to hear any more of Shinji's erotically demeaning banter, he moved in front of Kensai and turned his back to him.

Once the orange-haired vizard was within his reach, Kensai's hands were on his shoulders and he was once again blindly searching for the back entrance. Once again, his partner was willing to offer assistance in that area, a careful hand guiding him toward pleasure.

When he was sure that they were steady enough to continue on their own, Shinji sat back for a moment to enjoy the view. The thing that Shinji found the most intriguing was the look in Kensai's eyes, when they were open. He hadn't be privileged to see the look the white-haired vizard had when he bit Shinji but he was getting the impression that if Ichigo made it through the encounter without a mark of his own, he would be lucky. Not that the blonde considered the wound on his neck unlucky. Quite the contrary, he understood it as an outward sign of his success and was seriously debating whether or not to let it heal on its own, rather than allow kido to erase it immediately.

At the first sign of Kensai beginning to tire, which came in the form of his breath coming in shallow pants, Shinji took action once again. He move up behind the pair and started to gently tug on the tail. Kensai groaned. "Relax a moment and I'll take this out," he advised.

Kensai tried his best to relax but the tension that filled his entire being allowed him only minimal success. Not that it mattered, Shinji was careful enough not to hurt him, slowly drawing out the contoured plastic before carelessly tossing it off the side of the bed. When he felt the tip of Shinji's lubricated member start to tease his ass cheeks, he instinctively pushed back against it.

"Oh? Horney kitty wants two lovers?"

Kensai tried to grumble with disgust at the tone but he was nodding in spite of himself, and rewarded a moment later with penetration. He moaned and bucked violently, finding himself glad for the strong hands holding his hips and helping him keep his balance.

Ichigo, in turn, felt the added effects of his lover joining them and brought his hands up to Kensai's, which still gripped his shoulders, to take hold and further steady himself. The fear of falling forward and away from the man taking so much pleasure in him, had Ichigo pushing back even harder than he was before.

It was shortly after that, that Kensai started to growl and swear between gasps.

"Oh, K-san," Shinji soothed, "You don't have too much longer do you?"

Kensai didn't answer. He was too hot to be able to gauge his own condition. Everything was all blurry and it was all he could do to just keep going without worry for anything else. Whether he wanted to or not, Shinji with the timely help of Ichigo, had pushed him past coherence and he had to trust the blonde and his boyfriend to take care of him.

Shinji recognized the tones of surrender and desperation in his comrade's voice, gravely and sweet, and really started to lay into him. He made sure to appreciate every second of one of his favorite features of Kensai's, his ability to take and thoroughly enjoy a good hard pounding every once in a while. This happened to be one of those whiles. He also took the opportunity to roughly tease the larger man's nipples, making his growl deepen.

When he came with a groan a few minutes later, he was satisfied that he nearly fell over. What stopped him was the chain reaction it caused. He had to see if Ichigo came too.

Part of him wished that he had, the rest of him held out hope for Kensai's sake. Fortunately, as he peered around the pair, the orange-haired vizard's erection was still going strong, even dribbling precum onto the sheets before him. Perfect. He knew just how this should end.

After a moment off the bed, which went largely unnoticed by the other two, he returned and faced Ichigo. He held a cock ring up in front of his panting, moaning lover. "May I put this on you?"

Ichigo appeared hesitant, mostly because he couldn't think straight from how hard he was being fucked. "Why…" he moaned.

"Well, by the looks of things," he ran a couple of teasing fingertips up the underside of the turgid length jutting out toward him, "you'll explode about two seconds after being inside K-san and that would be a great disappointment for both of you."

Ichigo weakly nodded when Kensai moaned loudly into his ear at the thought.

"You may remove it whenever the pressure becomes too great," Shinji advised and then backed off. However, Kensai was rapt with his own pleasure, that he didn't want to let go of the young man in his grasp. He quirked an eyebrow at the revelation and moved closer to Kensai this time, "Unless you don't want this beautiful young man to fuck your brains out," he whispered with a husky voice into the episodic man's ear.

Kensai felt something snap in his brain and what little sense he had left wondered if that would cause any permanent brain damage. The rest of him was letting go of Ichigo and offering a slight withdrawal to allow the younger vizard the opportunity to assume the physically dominant position if he so chose.

With his new freedom, Ichigo turned and looked into Kensai's face for the first time since he'd been entered. It was taught with pleasure and anxiety. The fire behind his nearly vacant gaze was readily apparent but it appeared he was holding his breath, waiting to see what Ichigo would do.

Ichigo, seeing that it was his move to make, laid down on his back and slipped his legs between Kensai's parted ones. "You really want me to-" he began to ask with wonder.

"Yes. Damnit, Ichigo. Just…fuck me please," he choked out through another orgasm, solicited only from having the young man's member teasing his backside.

Ichigo was glad for Shinji's forethought regarding the cock ring because a moment later, after he was inside the feverish man, he would have came.

Once they got going, Shinji simply took a seat off the bed and watched while smoking a cigarette. It was all he could do to keep himself from becoming fully erect once again. Kensai was practically howling again as he spilled himself over and over on the young man's toned stomach. Ichigo held tight to the larger man's hips as he rose and fell on the length, moaning especially loud when his swollen prostate was stuck. Before long, the restrains keeping his arms folded and his hands close his chest were being put to the test. His hands clasped and unclasped, groping only the air before him.

To Shinji's surprise, Ichigo appeared to enjoy this struggle for a few moments, perhaps as a distraction from the pressure building in his groin, before reaching up to unclasp the bindings.

"Oh, yes! Thank you," Kensai nearly pleaded using his newly freed hands to touch the body beneath him but before long he was wrapping his arms around the young man, bringing their heaving chests together and allowing him to rub himself between their bodies. He mumbled the orange-haired vizard's name like a prayer as he nuzzled and nibbled the neck his face was now buried in.

Another few minutes passed like this before another plea was spoken.

"Give it to me, please," Kensai moaned. "Come for me, please."

Ichigo groaned in affirmation as he had just been considering releasing himself and reached down to the clasp. As soon as the obstruction was gone, Ichigo came hard inside the man above him. Both fell limp after a moment, breath ragged as they basked in the afterglow. During their rest, Shinji returned to him and removed the ears, which had become askew during that last exchange.

Ichigo's mind was reeling as the man a top him started to lost consciousness. He watched silently as Shinji pulled a tissue from the bedside stand to wipe the smeared whiskers off the man's cheeks before rolling him off his lover and covering him.

"Did you have fun?" Shinji asked quietly as he tucked Kensai into the bed.

Ichigo nodded stupidly.

"Come on, let me clean you up," he offered a hand and led Ichigo to the bathroom.

Ichigo followed, only tearing his eyes from the sleeping form once the bathroom door was closed.

"That was…" Ichigo paused, "interesting," he finally concluded.

Shinji smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way…but if Kensai asks you about it, you might want to think of a more flattering term," he teased.

Ichigo nodded and followed his boyfriend into the shower.


	47. Honesty

"So…" Ichigo began after a few minutes of them fumbling about the shower in a slightly intoxicated attempt to wash and rinse one another. "If I'm not supposed to say it was interesting, then what am I supposed to say?"

"Say whatever you want. It's just that Kensai dislikes when intellectual terms like 'interesting' are applied to emotional experiences, that's all. I'm sure he'd catch your meaning." Shinji explained.

Ichigo frowned and tried to think of a better way to describe how he felt. Before he was finished thinking, they were done showering and toweling off.

"Why don't you go snuggle that big lug while I finish getting things cleaned up," Shinji suggested.

"Then what?"

"Then I'll join you."

The younger vizard had no arguments with that and did as advised. Until he was comfortable, as curling up next to someone other than his lover was a bit awkward, he tried to watch Shinji but quickly sleep overtook him and he was passed out as well.

Kensai awoke a few hours later feeling very satisfied, even more so when he realized he was being cuddled from both sides. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around the bodies next to his and pulled them close, breathing a sigh of relief that his ordeal was finally over. However, his stirring had awoken the blonde to his left. When the blonde smiled at him, he mused to himself that it was oddly appropriate that his comrade chose that side, as that was the shoulder where his the evil side of his conscience resided.

"Sleep well?" Shinji cooed, idly running his fingers along the larger man's chest.

Kensai gave a nod of affirmation.

"Did you have fun?" The quiet queries continued.

That made Kensai falter. "If I say yes, you won't do it again, right?"

Shinji shrugged. "That's up to you. You let me do all those things to you," he pointed out playfully.

"I'm sorry I bit you," Kensai attempted to apologize.

"Don't be sorry if you had a good time. Besides, you can heal it later if you like."

"I…had fun," Kensai admitted.

Neither of the older vizards noticed that they had woken up Ichigo and that he was listening to their conversation until he saw fit to chime in.

"Good," the young man sleepily interjected, causing the man next to him to start a little.

"D-Did you?" Kensai turned his attention to the orange-haired vizard to his right, the good side of his conscience. Though, he couldn't quite keep the hopeful apprehension from his voice.

"Hm-hum," the teen gave a drowsy nod and felt the larger man breath a sigh of relief.

"Then everybody wins," Shinji mused.

The three vizards lounged in the large plush bed for about another half an hour before they saw fit to redress and face the outside world. After Shinji and Ichigo said their good byes, complete with kiss, Ichigo started to leave. He thought it was all over but Kensai apparently had a mind to walk him out.

"I guess thanks are in order," the white-haired man mused.

"Don't worry about it. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I should probably be thanking you," he half-teased.

"But seriously," Kensai's expression turned to the schooled features that Ichigo was used to seeing, "I actually really enjoyed myself. I'm glad you were there," he tried again.

Ichigo blushed. "No problem," he answered after a moment. "Look. I don't really know how to say how I feel about what happened."

At that admission, Kensai appeared crestfallen.

"But I know I had a good time." It was as close as Ichigo was going to get to saying that Kensai looked unnervingly sexy the way Shinji had him dressed up.

Kensai's smile returned and he breathed another sigh of relief.

"'Sides, once I was there I wasn't gunna just leave. If I didn't like what he did…I coulda undone it," he reasoned and seeing that he was almost out the door, he thought he would be home free.

"So you liked it?" Kensai asked without really thinking.

Ichigo tensed. "Enough not to undo it," he managed.

That made Kensai smile a little but it quickly fell away. "One more thing."

"What's that?"

"Part of the reason I let him do that is…because he promised me something in return," he carefully began.

"Promised you what?" Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat.

"Well…he said I could do whatever I wanted with him," he confessed.

Ichigo blinked for a moment but he wasn't totally surprised by the notion. "So?"

"Since you two are together, I just thought you should know. I didn't want you thinking I was going behind your back or anything so I wanted to be the one to tell you, if he hadn't motioned it yet."

"Are you asking my permission?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"I dunno," Kensai gave an awkward shrug. His first attempt to have a real conversation with the young man wasn't as bad as he thought it would be but he still felt strange.

"Do whatever. I mean, he's the one who made the promise, right?"

"So, you don't care?"

Ichigo thought for a moment. "You probably wanna get'em back, huh?" he mused.

Kensai blushed, "That's not-" he tried to defend but Ichigo interrupted him.

"Give'em hell, I say," he laughed.

The white-haired man was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered and found himself laughing as well.

"Oh, hey, you might wanna 'borrow' his phone for a minute later too," Ichigo advised.

"Why's that?"

The young man pulled out his own cell phone and brought up the picture he'd been sent. "'Cause he took a picture of you while you were passed out earlier," he held up the screen.

Kensai's eyes bugged out and he turned bright red. Ichigo couldn't help musing to himself that that was probably very near the look he'd given when he first saw the picture. "That fuckin' bastard! I'll kill'em!"

"Whoah! Chill out. He did it so that I would come over as quick as I could," Ichigo explained, closing his phone and slipping it back into his pocket.

"Thanks for the advice…"Kensai grumbled. At first he was annoyed that the teen hadn't deleted his copy of the photo but at the same time, he was so flattered that he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. "Okay well, thanks again…for everything."

It was Ichigo's turn to breath a sigh of relief as he exited the warehouse and made his way home without further incident.

* * *

Due to Urahara's complaint that Ichigo only ever visited when he wanted something, he found himself frequenting the shop more often, usually on his way home from school when Shinji wasn't there to walk him home. It was the usual tea and harassment that he'd become accustomed to and learned to expect until one day he lost track of the time and stayed a little longer than intended.

"You're here quite late today, Kurosaki-kun, are you sure you don't need anything?" Kisuke asked again, though he was pleased by the impromptu visits.

"Nope, not a thing. Just some place to hang out that isn't home. If you need me to leave, I'll understand," he offered.

"Oh, no. Of course not. I was just making sure. You know you may stay as long as you like." It was a warm open invitation until he added, "Or until I make you angry enough that you storm out."

The taunt was received with a laugh. "Either way," Ichigo shrugged.

Kisuke smiled. "I'll be back in just a moment," he refilled their tea cups before rising to his feet and leaving the room.

Ichigo sipped in silence as he listened to the shopkeeper's clogs get further away, disappear for a moment, then return.

When he sat back down, Kisuke appeared pensive for a moment. "I trust you don't have plans for this evening then."

"No, why?" Ichigo suddenly grew suspicious, readying a response for an invitation into another lesson.

"Then, would you mind spending the evening with me?" he proposed.

"Why?" Ichigo's question was really, Why even ask? unless there was an ulterior motive behind the question.

"Because I'd like the company. Tessai's taking the kids out to a movie and I don't really feel like sitting here alone," he reasoned.

"Sure, what the hell," Ichigo finally agreed, though still withholding judgment.

The shopkeeper smiled and removed his hat. Then he withdrew something from his pocket.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked, this time trying to hide the suspicion from his voice because he knew how rude it was.

Kisuke appeared reluctant to answer for a moment. "It's that candy you traded me a while back."

"I though you said you were gunna destroy it," Ichigo scolded.

"I was." Then, without further warning, he popped it into his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo demanded and tried to swat the candy away but he was too late. The man was already chewing and swallowing it.

"You wanted an honest conversation out of me, didn't you?" the man prompted.

"Well yeah, but not like this!"

"It's a little late to be making stipulations," he teased.

Ichigo grumbled.

"If you're that unhappy with what I've done, you can leave."

"Then what about you?"

"Oh, I'll probably just watch some television...end up watching one of those from home shopping networks and spending more than I should," he dismissed.

Ichigo grumbled again but it was obvious he wasn't going to leave. "You didn't have to do that, ya know."

Kisuke shrugged and made his way over to the china cabinet but instead of retrieving cups and saucers, as the young man was accustomed to seeing, he pulled out one of the drawers, withdrawing a long, decorative pipe.

"What's that for?" Ichigo asked, leaning closer to see what the man was doing.

"I rarely smoke but…your raietsu, it makes me…a bit anxious sometimes," he admitted as he filled the bowl end with tobacco.

"Really?" Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't realize."

"That's good. Means I've done a good job of hiding it."

"If I make you anxious, then I should probably go," Ichigo offered.

Kisuke gave a gentle smile. "Not that anxious…and it's not just your spiritual pressure."

"What else?" Ichigo couldn't help asking.

The shopkeeper eyed his guest carefully. "You don't like it when I tell you how attractive you are," he mused, blowing smoke out the open window.

The teen blushed.

"Especially that look. It's absolutely adorable," the man replied lazily.

"Okay, stop! Geeze," the young man quelled.

"You asked," Kisuke shrugged.

"I'm almost sorry I did."

"So I guess I was right after all," Kisuke continued to muse.

"About what?" Ichigo's brow furrowed.

"When I said that you like my straight answers less then the once I usually give you," he elaborated.

"I haven't decided yet," Ichigo informed tartly.

"What can I do to help you make up your mind?" the shopkeeper offered.

"Why do you insist on embarrassing me so much?" Ichigo finally asked.

Kisuke quirked a slight grin and took another few puffs. "You expect me to say that it's simply for my own amusement. Well, you're partially correct but really, it's the easiest way to get a reaction out of you…and that you get embarrassed so easily that it can hardly be helped."

Ichigo pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"It's the easiest way for me to deal with being attracted to you," Kisuke finally confessed. "You're right, there is a slight aftertaste during especially pressing moments," he observed.

The admission caused Ichigo to falter slightly. "I still find it hard to believe that you'd be that attracted to me," he managed.

"I've tried to show you how fond I am of you but I understand your resistance," the smoking man tried to ease. "Why are you so resistant to me anyway?"

Because the man sitting across from him blowing smoke out the window was so thoroughly compelled to be honest with him, he felt obligated to do the same.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I just couldn't help asking," Kisuke added.

"You're too mysterious," Ichigo managed.

"Hmm, young people usually like mystery. Though, I suppose you get enough of that as it is," Kisuke mused, mostly to himself.

"I never know what you're gunna do. It's always some sort of surprise out of left field," Ichigo tried to sound like he was complaining but the vulnerability in his voice made it difficult.

Kisuke smiled. "Young people usually prefer spontaneity," he continued his musings.

"You're not the one getting surprised all the time."

At that Kisuke laughed heartily.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo asked when, after a moment, the laughter didn't subside.

"I didn't realize I do such a good job of hiding myself, that's all. You never cease to surprise me."

"Really?"

"Of course," he chuckled at the young man's surprise. "That's why I think it's only fair that I throw you for a loop every once in a while."

That made Ichigo's smile return. "Shinji told me once that the reason you bug me is 'cause you like me."

"Shinji often makes poor decisions but when it comes to identifying relationships, he's unnervingly skilled," Kisuke informed.

Ichigo had just been thinking that a few weeks ago. "I was starting to notice that."

"How is your relationship with Shinji, by the way?" the shopkeeper asked hopefully.

"Good," Ichigo smiled almost foolishly. "It's certainly unconventional but I can deal with that."

"Well, you are a very unconventional person to begin with."

"You're one to talk."

"How does the saying go, it takes one to know one? Yes, I believe that's it."

"Though, I think it might be time for us to cool it again for a bit," Ichigo informed.

"If you've been exclusive as long as I think you have, then you're probably right."

"Exclusive?" Ichigo repeated the word without thinking.

"Yeah, you know, only been seeing each other?" Then he saw the slightly embarrassed look on the young man's face. "You haven't been, have you?" he teased.

Ichigo blushed.

"I suppose it's better if Shinji sleeps around a bit, as terrible as that sounds, that way he won't get too dreadfully attached to your raietsu."

Ichigo felt a bit of solace in that but still couldn't manage a reply.

"Or was it not just Shinji who was getting around?"

The young man blushed even harder and then even harder still when Kisuke gave another hearty laugh. "Stop laughing at me!" he finally complained, slamming his fist on the table, making the china rattle as he did.

"I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I just didn't expect that, that's all."

"I haven't-Well, I-" Ichigo stammered for a moment then took a breath and tried again. "Is it still _exclusive_ if there's another person there too?" he asked carefully.

Kisuke's jaw dropped. "Yes and no," he replied after a second.

"I think you're candy's wearing off," Ichigo complained.

"Hardly. In my opinion, you'd still be emotionally exclusive but drawing another person's raietsu into the mix would still have the same dampening effect on Shinji's addiction to you as we discussed."

Ichigo liked that answer a lot better and smiled again until another question was spoken.

"If I may ask…who was you're lucky third?"

"You're suck a pervert," Ichigo accused.

"Don't pin this on me. You're the one who brought it up. I'm incapable of leading our conversation at this point," Kisuke informed.

Ichigo obviously didn't like that answer and mostly because the man was right. "Why do you even care who it was?"

The shopkeeper shrugged. "Curiosity."

"It was one of the other vizards, during his episode," Ichigo elaborated, hoping his vague answer would be good enough.

"That narrows it down to four," Kisuke figured to himself. "Rose, Love, Kensai, or Hachi. Rose and Love usually stick together and Hachi can take care of himself for the most part… So, my guess is Kensai."

Ichigo blushed and his frown deepened.

"Looks like I'm a pretty good guesser," the man chuckled. "I bet that was fun."

"It was interesting, that's for sure."

"Oh? He's usually very considerate."

"You've…with him…?" Ichigo managed.

Kisuke gave a sly grin. "I've helped most of the vizards during their episodes at some point. They let very few outsiders into that particular circle and mostly to deescalate their interpersonal relationships. I have been with Kensai from time to time, though not very often. I don't think he trusts me very much."

That last comment made Ichigo laugh a little. "Who else knows about it?"

"About what?" Kisuke distractedly asked.

"About the vizard episodes," Ichigo elaborated.

"Oh, yes, of course," he shook his head a little, "Well, there's myself, Tessai, Yuroichi," he paused while silently listing Ishin, "I think some of the Shibas might know about it. Kon, apparently. Perhaps a few others, it's not something that we generally talk about."

Ichigo gave a nod of appreciation.

"If I may ask, and perhaps I'm letting my curiosity get the better of me here, but what made your experience with Kensai interesting instead of good?"

"I didn't say it wasn't good," the orange-haired young man quickly corrected.

"Oh. I see. Is interesting how you feel about our times together?"

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "I dunno. I never really thought of a word for what we do."

Kisuke couldn't help smiling at that answer and almost stupidly.

"What's that look for? Stop it, it's creepin' me out!"

"You said do, not did. Present tense. Perhaps there's hope for me yet," he mused.

Ichigo wasn't sure what to think about that so he tried to shake it off. "Interesting is probably a good word for what happens between us."

"But not bad, right?" he asked hopefully.

"No, not bad," Ichigo reluctantly assured.

"You don't know how much it means for me to hear that."

The young vizard tried not to blush.

"Was it interesting for the same reasons?" he pressed.

Ichigo thought for a moment then a look of understanding came into his eyes. "Yeah, actually, but that wasn't his fault," he quickly covered.

"Oh, I see. Shinji was the one pushing your boundaries, and Kensai's as well no doubt. I can't say I'm surprised."

"Me neither," he rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you a question?" he suddenly posed.

"Now would be the best time. I think the drug is starting to wear off," he advised.

"Why did you dress Shinji like that during his episode, you know like with the skirt and stuff? Did he ask you do that?"

"No. Actually, he usually dislikes girly things. No," he repeated, "I proposed that, though he did agree to it. It had the tease and reveal effect I was going for. Why do you ask?"

Ichigo appeared unsure for a moment but replied anyway, "'Cause he dressed Kensai up, so to speak. I was just wondering if that was something he usually did."

Kisuke gave a look of mild shock. "Kensai let Shinji dress him up?"

"Well, not like that but sorta, yeah," the young man managed.

The shopkeeper gave a look of understanding, "Oh, okay. Kensai may find cross-dressing attractive at times but he doesn't appreciate doing it himself. What was he dressed up as?…if I may be so bold as to ask."

A flush rose to Ichigo's cheeks and he stammered for a moment but that only further piqued the older man's curiosity. He looked around for a moment, nervously, though he knew no one else was around. "If I show you something, can you keep it a secret?"

Kisuke smiled. "I'm very good at keeping secrets."

Ichigo pulled out his phone and searched for the photo carefully hidden within the memory. Once he found it, he slid the device across the table. The reaction he received was absolutely priceless. The older man's nose started gushing blood immediately. He had to grab his phone back with flash-like speed to keep it from getting damaged.

"That…That…" he trailed off a couple times before giving up entirely. "Wow." he finally managed. "Lucky you."

Ichigo scrunched up his nose in disgust though he expected such a reaction from the man lazily seated across from him. "Is that normal?"

Kisuke laughed. "Hardly…but it appeared he enjoyed it."

"You can't tell anybody."

"I've told you this before, no one would believe me even if I did."

"I don't think I would believe it if I didn't see it myself," Ichigo mused.

Kisuke's smile grew as he cleaned up the blood. "It is _very_ interesting."

"That's what I said," Ichigo mused. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel alright. Almost better now, if I'm not mistaken. Of course, I only ingested the proper dosage."

"Of course," Ichigo rolled his eyes but laughed, almost wishing that the older man had overdosed to the degree that he had just to see what would happen in spite of himself. "So, there aren't any more of those candies, right?"

"Not from the bad batch, no," Kisuke affirmed.

"But there are others like it," he grumbled.

"More subtle and not as strong," the older man added offhandedly. "Altogether a much better product."

"I'm sure," the grumbling continued.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask? While I'm still capable of straight answers, as you like to call them."

Ichigo thought for a moment, oddly endeared by the gesture the older man was offering. He eyed the shaggy blonde across from him. His eyes were half-lidded and his lips slightly parted, adding to the overall languid look of the man, as he sat, half-reclined. For some reason, after taking it all in, his eyes got stuck on those lips. Then, he remembered Kensai's advice about learning from the way that people kiss. He decided to give it a shot, knowing that he could back away whenever he pleased even if that meant leaving the man hanging, as cruel as that may be.

"C-Can I kiss you?" the young man asked bashfully.

The lounging man perked up immediately. "Really?"

The eagerness in the shopkeeper's tone made him second guess himself. "N-" he was about to say 'Never mind,' but he was cut off.

"Yes, of course," Kisuke quickly interrupted.

Ichigo gave a shy little grin before making his way over to the older man. Now that the shopkeeper was sitting up, he didn't have to lean over him to accomplish his goal. He let his eyes slide shut as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against those the mysterious man who'd so thoroughly indulged him during the last couple of hours.

With a soft sigh, Kisuke pressed back. He wanted very badly to reach out and touch the young man now so very close to him but he instead found himself melting into the small affection.

When he felt the lips against his give a little twitch, Ichigo pressed further without really thinking about it, flicking his tongue out and tasting the tobacco tinted sweetness. With that, Kisuke couldn't help parting his lips further and letting his tongue to come out to play with the one teasing him so.

Their tongues met and Ichigo finished the motion, closing their mouths together, causing Kisuke to moan. The shopkeeper's limbs found their motion again but only to reach a hand up and cup the young man's cheek, cradling it in his hand.

Feeling that the air around them had become too thin, Ichigo broke away, sitting back on his heals with a foolish grin on his face. Shinji's intense affection aside, that was probably one of the best kisses he'd had yet. It made his heart flutter with the notion that this man might actually have a genuine affection for him. "That was really nice. Thank you," he blushed.

Kisuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way he could tell Ichigo how much he agreed so he didn't even try. Then, as the young vizard had a habit of doing, he surprised him again. Before his eyes opened, they were kissing again. He gave a little gasp and it once again deepened. His eyes fluttered and he reached out again, this time grasping the back of the young man's neck to deepen the kiss further. When Ichigo nipped at his tongue, he actually moaned into the kiss.

The verbal affection, startled Ichigo a bit and he withdrew again, this time not so far. He glanced downward and to find that his host was partially erect and very bad at hiding it. He bit his lip and looked back up through mischievously hooded eyes. "Would you accuse me of taking advantage of you if I wanted to do more than just kiss you right now?"

"Only in jest," Kisuke laughed, tasting the last traces of the aftertaste in the back of his mouth.

"How 'bout not at all this time?" Ichigo tried.

"I might be able to manage that," he complied. "What'd you have in mind?"

Ichigo faltered for a second, "I-I hadn't really gotten that far…" he admitted sheepishly. He just knew that he wanted to be intimate with the man who'd been so honest with him.

"Spontaneity. How 'bout you start by kissing me again," Kisuke suggested hopefully and was rewarded. Before long, he felt himself leaning back until he was laying on the floor with the young man leaning over him and a curious hand venturing beneath his robes.


	48. Contest

shorty-short to finish up this encounter...

* * *

Before Ichigo realized what was happening, both of their shirts were nearly off and the shopkeeper was eagerly yet carefully sucking and nipping at his chest, leaving him gasping while practically pulling the blonde hair that his fingers had somehow become tangled in. When Kisuke saw fit to bring a hand down to his lap and start palming the young man's erection, Ichigo gasped again but didn't falter. Rather, he brought his hips down flush with the shopkeeper's and pressed their hardening lengths together and reinitiated their lip lock which broke only a few moments later, leaving them gasping for air.

"Ichigo, I had no idea you could be so forward," Kisuke marveled between panting breaths.

"And I never realized you could be so…" dare he say it? "submissive," he commented with a slight grin. After his discussion with Shinji he couldn't help it.

The man on his back gave a shocked but challenging look but before he could do anything about it, Ichigo was nipping at the side of his neck. It took almost all of his self control to either not roll them over and assert his dominance or not wiggle too much under the young man's attentions, as he was torn between the two.

"So, I think it's safe to say," he practically cooed into the man's neck, "that I could do pretty much whatever I wanted, right?"

"You know what you want now, that's a good start," Kisuke teased.

"You didn't answer my question," he pressed as the shopkeeper had pressed him so many times before.

"I'd love nothing more than for you to do as you please but, as I'm sure you've realized by now, if you push me, I push back."

Ichigo smiled at the answer and reached down to unfasten his fly. The surprised look this forwardness earned him bid him to elaborate. "I don't wanna waste time."

Kisuke gave a nod. "I understand but one of these days, you'll have to let me show you how much fun it can be to be teased out of your wits," he offered. He had more to say but was cut off by his own gasp, elicited by Ichigo freeing his member in turn.

Ichigo appeared to think on that for a moment, but only a very short moment. "I bet you'd love that."

"I'd make sure you did too," he assured confidently.

The idea made Ichigo bite his lip and instead of replying he turned around above the older man, placing his knees on either side of the man's shoulders and his hands on his hips. Without any further warning, he started sucking on the swollen head.

Any sort of smart remark Kisuke might have had was cut off by that and he simply got to work himself. Placing his hands on the hips above him, he lapped eagerly at the stiff member dangling above his face, swirling his tongue around the tip and occasionally teasing the slit with the tip. Even just those small services had Ichigo making small sounds of appreciation around his own length. They were both so close already that he almost couldn't believe it.

When he felt his member twitch the first time, Kisuke laid back for a moment to stead himself, "So much for my lessons. It appears you don't need those anymore," he half-teased before sucking the young man into his mouth with a soft hum.

The hum solicited a similar twitching reaction from Ichigo, causing him to gasp and let go of the flesh in his mouth for a moment. "I wasn't sure you wanted to keep up that game," Ichigo mused, then returned to his task.

"I enjoy all the games we play," Kisuke withdrew to reply and pull the young man's pants and underwear a little further down his legs, as far as their position would allow.

They continued in near-silence, save the muffled sounds of pleasure, until Kisuke reached up a hand to start playing with his guest's asshole, causing Ichigo to gasp and pull away again. The man beneath him gave a dark chuckle around his length at the reaction. "That's not fair!"

"There you go talking about fairness again. This isn't a contest," Kisuke teased, paying extra attention with his hands while he was speaking.

Ichigo's argument was a grunt, as he was unwilling to abandon the member before him again.

Kisuke lapped the now dripping length again before continuing, "Though, you're so competitive, I shouldn't be surprised. We could turn this into a competition if you like," he proposed.

That caused Ichigo to pause, "What'd you have in mind?" he asked with a mischievous undertone in his voice.

"Call it a race…to see who can make the other come first," the shopkeeper continued.

"And if _I_ win?"

Kisuke shrugged. "That's up to you."

"And if _you_ win?" he pressed.

"Then I'd like that opportunity to tease you," he answered without missing a beat.

"You're on," Ichigo immediately went back to pleasuring the man beneath him and with a renewed fervor. He even started to massage the man's thighs and toy with his balls in an attempt to increase his chances of success. It seemed to work as he in turn received similar increased attentions.

It quickly became a contest of experience versus enthusiasm and they were evenly matched. Unfortunately for Ichigo, Kisuke hadn't saw fit to play fair regardless of whether or not they were competing and didn't remove his fingers from his backside. That extra bit of attention caused him to spill himself first, a curse of defeat muffled until he pulled up.

Then, without warning, he rolled off the older man and eyed him carefully, the words 'You cheated', imprinted on his spent features.

"Oh, Ichigo, please don't stop now," he was already to the breaking point and only held out for the sake of the competition.

"Call it a penalty for cheating," he smartly shot back.

The lecherous grin grew. He had been a little afraid that his extra advantage would have disqualified him entirely. "But it's so cruel of you to stop now," he teasingly complained.

Ichigo laughed a little as he moved back over to finish what he'd started.

A soft "Mmmm," was all that stifled the deep groan that Kisuke gave in response. "Thank you," he added after a moment.

Ichigo shrugged and wiped his lips while redressing.

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to leave me hanging," he mused, doing the same.

"I thought about it."

"How awful of you," Kisuke teased. "I'm glad you decided against it."

A little while later, Ichigo was on his way out.

"I'm glad you decided to stay," Kisuke added. "When will I see you again?"

Ichigo appeared apprehensive about setting a date for their next encounter. "I dunno."

"No matter. I just enjoy seeing you when I can." He smiled. "Besides, the longer you wait to pay your gambling debt, the more time I have to think of things to tease you with," he mused.

Ichigo tensed for a moment but laughed in spite of myself. "Then don't expect to wait too long."

With that they said their good byes.

* * *

so, i'm still working out what to do with Kensai and Shinji during Shinji's next episode so any requests or suggestions are more than welcome!  
thanks again for reading!


	49. Conflicted

Kensai did make a point, as Ichigo had suggested to him, of 'borrowing' Shinji's cell phone so that he could delete the picture. Though he was flattered that his comrades had decided to keep it around, in his experience, Shinji was much more likely to show it around or use it to his embarrassment than Ichigo. However, he did also make a point of sending it to himself before erasing it. Just in case. You never know what something like that could come in handy. Shinji noticed the deletion but took it only with a grumble of complaint and let it go at that. The image had served its purpose and not having it just made it all that easier to focus on Ichigo.

He kept a close eye on Shinji in the weeks leading up to his next episode. Even if it weren't for the spiritual attraction, their deal made him want to observe as much of him as possible for clues as to what he should do when the time came. He wasn't certain that he wanted the blonde during his episode, but it was certainly something worth considering.

However, Kensai wasn't the first to react to Shinji's behavior. Lisa was and she took action in the form of meeting Ichigo after school one Thursday afternoon. To say that the young man was surprised to see her would have been an understatement. Actually, he had been expecting to walk home alone that day because although his boyfriend met him almost every other day of the week, he abstained from Thursdays in order to make Friday afternoons and evenings easier.

"Oi, Kurosaki, you got a minute?" she called when she saw him exit.

He look around, shrugged, and joined her. "What's up?" he asked concerned.

"Look, I know you don't like beating around the bush so I won't waste time with that. Just answer a question for me," she told him evenly and when he nodded in appreciative compliance, she continued. "When you spend time with Shinji, do you prefer to do it during his episodes, or out side of them?"

He appeared disgusted by the question and was second guessing his willingness to oblige her so easily. "What's it to you?

She gave a slight sigh and kept her voice low. "Well, in the interest of your relationship, I think it would be best if you stuck with one for a while and tried to stay away from the other, alternate back and forth between the two, if you know what I mean."

Her even answer dispelled his disgust. In fact, it caused him pause. He had been wondering if something like this might be coming. "Oh yeah?" he sighed.

"Shinji's been washing his sheets everyday for the past week and a half," she informed flatly, "and we get to hear him moan and groan for you while he sleeps."

Ichigo blushed. He hadn't realized it had gotten that bad. He wasn't sure if he should commend Shinji for controlling himself so well around him or be irritated that he was hiding it.

"Or you can keep going the way you are and then you'll have to take some real time off for a while," she shrugged, it was also an option but she didn't think that the younger vizard would like it as much.

"So those are my options…"

"Pretty much."

Ichigo pursed his lips. "Why are _you_ the one telling me this?" He tried not to sound annoyed.

"Because I don't think Shinji realizes it yet," she answered.

"Then why not go to him about it?"

"He'd just say I was meddling," she dismissed.

"You _are_ meddling," Ichigo replied flatly.

"Yeah, but not in the bad way, right?" she reasoned carefully.

Ichigo almost smiled. "No, I guess not."

She actually smiled until he gave a sigh of defeat. "What's the matter?"

"Oh," he sighed again, "I guess I was just hoping that bringing Kensai into it would make it last longer, that's all," he bashfully admitted.

Her smile returned, but it wasn't the lecherous one he was expecting. It was actually rather gentle. "It did help. If you remember, the first time around, when it was just you two fooling around you had to cut it off after about two or three episodes."

"But that's all we've had this time," he argued.

"But you've been seeing each other a lot in between those times and that one you had together should be considered a double dose," she explained.

Ichigo blushed again but this time not as deeply as he was thankful for her frankness. "I guess…"

"Don't worry too much about it, okay? I just wanted to give you heads up, let you know what your options are so maybe it'll be easier to decide when the time comes."

"Thanks," he offered sheepishly.

"No problem," then she turned to leave but stopped. "If you can't find anybody while you're taking your sabbatical, you can always call me," she offered impishly.

That made Ichigo's cheeks really light up, "Yeah, I'll remember that…"

Then she was gone and he was almost home.

* * *

So, that weekend, during their date, which happened to be an evening picnic in the park they had become so fond of frequenting, Ichigo bravely broached the subject. He hadn't intended to do it so soon, he could still feel the thoughts simmering in his brain and a decision, shall we say, had yet to come to a full boil. However, now that Lisa had pointed it out to him, he was noticing more and more the things, some big and some small, that had altered in his boyfriends behavior. Not that he disliked these things. Actually, more often than not, he enjoyed and was endeared by them.

Like now he now held Ichigo's hand while they were walking alone together. There were a couple of times when Ichigo caught him trying to do it in public. A few of those times, Ichigo was kind enough to indulge him but the rest of the time, like if someone he knew was within his sight, he pulled away. Then there was the flattery. At first, Ichigo thought his boyfriend was doing it to embarrass him, but he was quickly realizing that his flustered responses were only an added bonus.

The most subtle thing he noticed was Shinji's eyes. He'd never really thought about how telling they were but he knew that feeling was only possible because they had spent such intimate amounts of time together. Shinji gave him a wide variety of different looks. There were smoldering stares, longing gazes, fleeting little winks. But now, more than ever, there was something he was only beginning to be able to identify. It was an almost vacant look. Sometimes, it felt as though the blonde was staring right through him.

"Shinji…" he carefully began after they were finished with their meal and when the man reclined next to him looked up in response, he continued, "You're episode's commin' up, isn't?"

Shinji started slightly at the young man's observation. "Yeah…"

"Have you thought about…what you're going to do?" he carefully asked.

Shinji pursed his lips. "I don't really care. I just wanna be with you." That's all I want anymore, he mentally added.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

The blonde gave a hurt frown. "Unless you don't want to," he offered weakly.

"No, it's not that," he leaned down and kissed his reclined boyfriend on the forehead gently. "I just wanna make sure we don't over do it, ya know? I like hanging out with you…even if that means we don't get to be together like that for a while." he managed, surprised by his own eloquence.

Shinji's gentile smile return but he didn't reply for a long moment after. "Do _you_ think that's what we should do?" His question didn't sound as accusatory as he expected, for which he was glad. Actually, he was happy that his significant other was the receptive to him.

Ichigo tried to shrug like he didn't care.

"I suppose you're right," Shinji offered, feeling a little defeated in spite of how endeared he was by the thoughtfulness.

"Oh, come on now, don't look so down," the younger vizard tried to coax.

Shinji forced another smile. "No, you're probably right. I just didn't want to think about it…" He sighed again. "Maybe we should take a few episodes off."

"That means we can still see each other in between those times though, right?" Ichigo offered hopefully.

That made it so that Shinji didn't have to force his smile anymore. "But that means I'll really have to start thinking about what I want to do and who I want to do it with," he teasingly complained.

"I'm sure you'llthink of something," Ichigo teased back. In his experience, Shinji didn't seem to have much of a shortage on those kinds of ideas.

"Is there anyone you'd _prefer_ that I be with?" Shinji asked, hopefully looking for suggestions.

Ichigo stammered a bit at that, having not expected that sort of question. "I-I dunno…"

"So I could be with _anybody_ and that'd be fine by you?" Shinji continued his questioning, this time he sounded more mischievous.

Ichigo frowned at the phrasing. "Well…yeah, I guess. I mean, I don't really care who else you're with…as long as you come back to me."

Shinji grinned giddily, almost foolishly. "You're amazing, ya know that?"

The young man's brows furrowed a bit but he didn't shun the compliment. "Oh yeah?" he managed.

"Yeah, most other people would be a lot more jealous than that. I mean, I'm sure that even I'll be at least a little envious of who ever you decide to mess around with."

"Really?" Ichigo blinked in disbelief.

"Of course. But I'm selfish. I like the idea of having you all to myself."

"I didn't say I didn't like having you all to myself," Ichigo playfully corrected and Shinji's smile grew. "I just understand that I have to share sometimes in order to get the most out of you."

At that, they closed this distance between their bodies and started to kiss. Their embrace was long and passionate, leaving them both nearly breathless as they pulled away. There was one more thing about Shinji that had started to change, to show his addiction, and that was their kisses. Ichigo couldn't put his finger on exactly what the difference was, but he could feel it in the intensity, something that excited him as much as it worried him. As he contemplated this, he helped Shinji pick up their things and fold the blanket. He was a little surprised that Shinji hadn't decided to put the moves on him this evening and even more so when he tried to make an advance only to have him reluctantly pull away. He didn't say anything about it because he understood enough about the blonde's condition not to push it. Shinji had drawn a line and he wasn't about to cross it, at least not until a hand was reached across to pull him to the other side.

Shinji walked Ichigo home and they stood across the street from the clinic for several long moments before saying anything. "Thank you Ichigo, I had a really good time tonight," Shinji offered, breaking the silence.

Ichigo pulled him close, "Me too," he breathed in the scent of the older man's hair. "You wanna go out again next weekend?"

Shinji faltered for a moment. "I'd love to but…as you said, my episode is coming up. I'd hate to have that interfere with our date," he complained.

Ichigo offered a gentle smile. "Okay. Why don't you call me later in the week then you're more sure about when it's going to happen. If it is, then I can take a raincheck. If not, then we'll go someplace. How does that sound?"

Shinji shook his head in amazement. "You're so easy going about this, I almost think you're up to something," he teased.

The younger vizard laughed. "You know I don't like tricks. I just wanna make sure we're okay."

Shinji kissed him again and then was on his way.

* * *

Shinji awoke in the middle of the night one night later that week with a throbbing pain in his lower abdomen, mainly his groin. As he stirred, he also noticed that, once again, he'd made a terrible mess of his bed sheets and as some of the details of his dreams came back to him, he blushed to himself. Reluctantly, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. After a moment of cleaning himself up, he put on a new pair of pants. He gathered up his sheets and started them in the washing machine before going to the refrigerator.

He chugged a beer on his way to the liquor cabinet where he retrieved a mostly full bottle of tequila. With the bottle in hand, he made his way to the card table, all the while scolding himself for not having made arrangements for this episode. Not that he hadn't tried. He wracked his brain for the last week about what he should do but the only thing that ever came into his mind was the face of his boyfriend, the one person he shouldn't see.

On his way to the table, he was so distracted that he tripped, nearly breaking the bottle in his hand. He swore quietly as he picked himself up, hoping that he hadn't disturbed the others, and made it the rest of the way without incident. Unfortunately, or otherwise, he had awoken a couple of the others but only one saw fit to see what was going on.

Kensai approached Shinji a few minutes later to find him already well on his way to being shit-hammered. "Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked casually, though he had a pretty good idea.

"Couldn't sleep. Sorry if I woke you," Shinji offered, already starting to slur his words a bit.

"Is it anything I could help you with?" he continued knowingly.

Shinji tried not to glare because he knew how irrational it was but he couldn't help it. "No."

Kensai frowned and took a seat across from the blonde playing solitaire.

"What are you doing?" Shinji asked defensively when once the other was seated and eyeing him with even appraisal.

"Well, if you're not going to let me help you, I'm just going to sit here and make sure you don't give yourself alcohol poisoning," he replied evenly. He could feel the intensity of Shinji's raietsu and the effect of his episode on that energy. It was making his skin tingle and there was no way he was going to walk away now.

Shinji grumbled and took another couple of burning swallows of the liquid. Kensai's frown deepened as he observed his comrade's behavior.

"What's the matter?" the white-haired man tried again.

"You know very well what my problem is!" Shinji snapped.

"I know you're episodic. What I don't know is why you're being a jack ass," Kensai sniped back.

"You're the one asking stupid questions."

"Are you afraid to go get him in the middle of the night or something? I mean, wouldn't now be one of the better times to tear him away from what he's doing?" Kensai offered.

Shinji almost growled at the reasoning. "I can't have him this time," he grumbled, moving cards around erratically.

At that, Kensai was thoroughly confused. The last time he checked, Ichigo was more than willing to help with Shinji's episodes. "How come?"

"So we can keep seeing each other the rest of the time…" Shinji listlessly replied.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Kensai offered only to be rewarded with a sneer.

"I'm _so glad_ you approve."

"That still doesn't explain why you're trying to drink yourself stupid," he argued.

"Not stupid, just into sweet unconsciousness," Shinji replied.

"That doesn't even work for me anymore. What makes you think it'll make you any better?"

"Shut up. Quit bothering me." Shinji dismissed. He knew his plan was extremely flawed but it was all he had.

Kensai sat in silent observation as more of the alcohol disappeared and his old friend became more and more intoxicated, to the point where he couldn't hardly handle his cards anymore. "Shinji," Kensai began again, this time able to manage a fairly even tone.

"What?" Shinji snapped, not looking up into the other man's stern features.

"I'm calling in my favor."

"Don't be stupid. You don't wanna do that right now."

"Yes I do. Right now."

"No, you wanna save that for when you want somethin' really good. Don't waste it now."

"Shinji," Kensai repeated even more sternly than the first time. "You made me a promise. You said that I could call in this favor whenever I wanted."

Shinji gave a defeated frown. "Why are you doing this?"

"You didn't say I'd have to explain myself," Kensai stipulated. "You just said I could have you whenever I wanted, that you'd _submit_ to me."

"Well, you might be outta luck then 'cause I'm too drunk to fuck at this point," Shinji tried.

Kensai appeared put off by that because he knew it wasn't true. "If you don't want me, I'll just leave you to your misery then." He offered but didn't retreat.

"Why are you doing this now?" Shinji tried to demand but he was slurring too much to be effective.

"Because I wanna," Kensai replied smartly.

"Well…" Shinji sighed and took another few swallows, leaving the bottle mostly empty, "Good luck! I can't even walk right now," he almost laughed.

Kensai grinned. "No problem." He stood and hoisted his friend over his shoulder. "I'll just carry you."

Shinji made a few sounds of disoriented surprise and kicked ineffectually. Now that he had physical contact with another person, he was beginning to think that his earlier statement about being too drunk to mess around was a lie. He wasn't the only one. With the way Shinji's erection pressed and rubbed against his shoulder, Kensai wondered if the blonde might release before they even got where they were going.

* * *

I've only recieved one request/suggestion so far, and saddly, i cannot seem to fit it in at the moment. however, worry not, it will come to fruition in the future!


	50. First Dose

Kensai set Shinji down on the bed as carefully as he could but Shinji still felt as though he had been tossed onto the mattress. However, his only complaint was a small, half-hearted grumble.

Shinji whined helplessly when his old friend started to touch him, caress him in sensual ways. "Uuugh, Kensai," he mumbled. "The bed's already spinning. I don't know if I can do this."

The white-haired man looked at his comrade with mock concern. His eyes were dialated, his skin flushed, and his breath coming in labored pants. "Awww, you don't look so good," he half-teased. "You just sit back and let me take care of you."

Shinji whined again as all he could do was sit back and hope for the best.

"I thought you knew better than to self-medicate," he continued to tease.

"Please…don't…" Shinji tried to argue, as he wasn't in the mood to be called out on such things.

"I won't give you a difficult time about it, if you let me doctor you up," Kensai proposed, knowing that the other couldn't make much protest while he was so carefully stroking his cock.

Shinji moaned and fell onto his back as he came. His words, if he had any, failed him. He wanted more than what he was getting from the other man but the steady stroking kept pulling him over the edge over and over and he only ended up mumbling unintelligibly. This continued until he reached the unconsciousness he craved, though it wasn't as sweet as he desired.

Kensai gave an affectionate chuckle and sat back, wiping his hand on a tissue. He knew his comrade desired more than he received and would wake with just as much want and need. With that in mind, he got to work. First, he outfitted the blonde with a straight jacket, something he knew would make the man even crazier than he already was. Then, he pulled the bound man into his lap and started to comb his messy hair. Once neat, he tied it back into a pony tail to prevent further mussing. With a grin, he curled up next to the blonde and let himself finish the sleep that had been interrupted.

Shinji awoke with a start a few hours later. When he shifted, he realized that his arms were bound around him. "Eeergh! What the hell!" he demanded in spite of his headache.

This disturbance was enough to wake the white-haired man sleeping next to him. "Oh, good you're awake."

"Oh good? What is the meaning of this?" he struggled.

"Now, now, don't be like that. Here, let me get you some water," Kensai stood and retrieved a large glass of water with a straw.

Shinji grumbled but settled down some, enough to get a much needed drink of water. "Why this?" he wiggled his shoulders.

"If you continue to complain, I'll gag you too."

"You don't have to do this. Please, don't do this."

"Hachi's right, you're a terrible patient."

Shinji wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I'm not sick…or crazy; let me go!"

Kensai chuckled and pulled out the gag.

"No! I wasn't complaining!"

"I'm afraid you were," the white-haired man teased and when the blonde opened his mouth with doubtlessly another protest, he secured the gag.

Shinji kicked and gave muffled screams. Kensai easily subdued the commotion by pinning the blonde and spreading his legs.

"You are sick with lust," Kensai informed, "And are apparently unwilling to take care of yourself. Now, let me give you your medicine." Then, he leaned down and started to suck on the head of the weeping member standing proudly before him.

Shinji moaned and kicked some more but this time not in protest, rather, in pleasure. He wanted to touch and grope the white-haired man so badly that he thought he really would go crazy from the denial, even more so when he felt fingers threatening to penetrate him.

Out of the blonde's sight, Kensai had coated his fingers in a mint oil and he grinned at the squeal that the bound man gave at the tingling sensations.

In his desire for greater physical contact, Shinji did the only thing he could. He wrapped his legs around the man between them. Anything more than that was channeled through moans and whines of pleasure. The attentions he was receiving, the mouth on his cock, the fingers penetrating him, were causing him to cum uncontrollably.

When Kensai's fingers were allowed deep enough to find his comrade's prostate, he pulled up for a moment. "Oh, you are ill. Your glands are all swollen."

Shinji's protest at the other man's language was muffled behind the gag and through his sounds of pleasure. The prostate massage alone had him spurting so hard that he was already staining his jacket. In addition, he found himself unwrapping his legs and drawing his knees up to his chest. It was the only action he could offer that would indicate clearly what he wanted.

"Ah, I see. You're ready for your injection. Good…" Kensai pulled back for just a few seconds to remove his pants. He was already hard, almost painfully so, at this point.

The withdraw had Shinji looking up at his white-haired friend with wild eyes full of want and need. He clenched his jaw, digging his teeth into the gag.

At the sight of the blonde's teeth digging into the rubber between them, Kensai too pity on him. "I should like to remove your gag now…if you promise no more complaints."

Shinji nodded eagerly and was rewarded. He panted heavily as the drool that had accumulated around the object in his mouth dripped down his cheeks and was wiped away. "I-…I'm not complaining but…" he took another couple of deep breaths, "but please, don't gag me again. No matter what I say, please don't-"

Kensai nodded. "Okay. How about this, as long as you're not mean to me, I'll let this alone," he held up the gag for emphasis. "You think you could do that?"

The blonde nodded reluctantly.

"Say, 'Yes, Doctor'" he prompted hopefully.

Shinji looked up with incredulity. Even with all the other suggestive play, he didn't expected Kensai to actually want to be called Doctor. "Y-Yes, Doctor, whatever you say," he finally replied without thinking. "Make me better."

"Very good," Kensai grinned at the submission. "Go ahead and pull your legs up again like you just had'em." He could have just positioned the man himself, but he wanted to test his newfound power.

The blonde did as he was told and bit his lip in anticipation. He could feel himself shaking with burning need and he tried to steady his breath as the larger man was settling in above him.

Taking Shinji's hips into his strong grip, Kensai slowly slid himself into his comrade. Briefly, he considered finding the thermometer to tease the other man about his slight fever but at this point, it wasn't worth it. Perhaps another time. Instead, he tried to concentrate on keeping his arousal in check so that he would not spill himself too soon.

"K-Ken…Kensai, oh god, yes. Thank you!" Shinji whined even though he was still not satisfied with the slowness of the pace being set.

"Don't thank me yet. This is just the first stage of your treatment," the white-haired man half-joked.

Shinji gave a nod at that. "Yes, Doctor," he agreed hopefully.

Kensai's smile widened and he rewarded his partner with an increase in speed. He could tell by the sounds that Shinji was making that it was well received.

That was true, but the strain in the blonde's tone was due also by the fact that between the tingling of the mint oil, the confines of the straight jacket, and Kensai's sensually dominant raietsu, was starting to make him think he really would lose his mind. The extra strain caused by this was having an effect on his stamina. He felt like a flash fire, burning intensely hot then burning out a short while later. The alcohol that still remained in his blood felt like an accelerant.

If it weren't for this, Kensai would have lost himself long before Shinji needed him to. However, as it were, he could tell the blonde wasn't going to remain conscious this time for very long. When he saw Shinji starting to lose steam, he pulled him up to sit in his lap for the remainder of his consciousness. To his surprise, this motion earned him a renewed struggle as well as the deeper penetration, which had been his primary motivation.

Shinji wiggled and kicked involuntarily, even giving a strangled whine. "K-Kens…Doctor…I want to hold you so bad…I think it really will make me crazy."

"It's okay," Kensai cooed, holding Shinji even more tightly against his body. "You'll be just fine," he assured. He had more to say but he was starting to cum and Shinji was passing out again. He barely finished before the other was limp in his arms.

Now the question was what to do with him next. He knew he didn't have much time. However, he also knew he had enough time for one indulgence. So, he carefully crawled off the bed and rummaged through his pants for a moment. When he found his phone, which he had taken the time to practice with the camera function just in case, he flipped it open and brought his temporarily sedated comrade into focus. The way he was laying prone, with his hair in a messy ponytail, tugging at the restraints across his torso even in his sleep, it all made him look like he really could be a mental case.

A few quick snapshots later and Kensai was onto other things.


	51. Second Dose

It has come to my attention that some readers were disappointed with the intensity of the last chapter. This had been a concern of mine but I wanted a contrast for this chapter. It is my sincere hope that this chapter fulfills the expectations of those who were disappointed with the previous installment. Regardless, I deeply appreciate the feelings behind the reviews I received, I treasure every one of them because, as the saying goes, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions. (Ken Blanchard & Spence Johnson)"

Happy Reading ^_^

* * *

During this restless rest, Shinji's body metabolized the remainder of the alcohol in his system, resulting in greater clarity and the return of his strength. Kensai could sense this and decided to take advantage of the remaining weakness and wake the other prematurely.

"Shinji…" he carefully cooed while gently shaking the blonde.

That was all it took. Shinji sat straight up. "More, Kensai, I need more…" he groaned.

Kensai nodded with understanding. "I know." Then sat back and pulled out a clipboard. "I just wanted to ask you some questions first."

"Questions? What's there to ask? You know what I want!" Shinji nearly growled.

"I need to evaluate your condition so that I can proceed with the proper treatment."

"Oh, come off it!" Shinji yelled but when he received a look of impatience, he gave a grumble of reluctance. "Ask your stupid questions so we can get on with it."

"Good." He scribbled a little on the pad. "First question, are you in pain?"

"No, not really…not right now. But if you deny me for too much longer I will be," he informed bitterly and then added under his breath, "and I'll make sure I'm not the only one."

Kensai wrote for another few seconds, "When it does hurt, where is the pain usually centralized?"

"Where do you think?" the blonde sardonically replied.

"If you don't bear with me, I won't be able to properly treat you."

"In my dick and in my balls," Shinji answered, jaw clenched in frustration.

"I see." He again wrote. "And I see you're quite engorged already." He licked his lips. "Have you tried masturbating to help your alleviate condition?"

"Tch," the blonde rolled his honey eyes but couldn't keep them off the other for very long. "I'd give it a shot if you took this stupid jacket off me."

"Is that so?" Kensai set the clipboard face down and moved over to the bound man. "I bed you'd do just about anything to get out of that straight jacket…wouldn't you?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do…Doctor?" the question was asked with the utmost seriousness the title however, couldn't have been more mocking and was added more as an after though.

Kensai chuckled, shook his head in amazement, and unfastened the first buckle. "I know you took pictures of me the last time, when you turned me feline."

Shinji froze for half a second. "I know." It didn't take him long after Kensai had erased the picture from his phone to realize what the white-haired man had found and decided to do. "And if that's what you want, then keep unbuckling."

Kensai chuckled again but continued the task at hand. "May I send them to others, as you did?"

"How? I only showed Ichigo to get him to come over," Shinji managed.

"I know. He's the one who showed me. I'd'a never found out about it if it weren't for him," he admitted.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. He thought I should know, told me to give ya hell for it, too," he teased.

Shinji swallowed hard. "I…didn't think he'd hang onto it."

That made Kensai laugh and he stopped short of the last buckle. Shinji could wiggle free if he really wanted to at this point but he was so stunned by their conversation that it hadn't occurred yet for him to do so. "I think he's still got it but don't worry. You're already well on your way to making up for it."

That made Shinji breathe a sigh of relief and felt the last buckle become undone, freeing his arms and allowing him to better relax his shoulders. However, when he tried to slide it off, he was not allowed.

"Leave it on for a few minutes. I like the way it looks on you." He knew the admission would earn him compliance and he was right. So, he found one of Shinji's hands in the overly long sleeve and moved it to his erection.

Shinji's eyes rolled and his hips jerked. He was lost in his own pleasure before Kensai could get to his phone, not caring that the fabric of the jacket felt almost too rough on his sensitive length because he started cumming again almost immediately. He only realized that Kensai was still taking pictures a minute or so later, when he was starting to pull the sleeves up to better molest himself.

"I only took one picture of you," he griped through gritted teeth.

"I don't plan on sharing these so I think that earns me a couple extra snapshots," he reasoned.

Shinji didn't argue, simply continued to stroke himself over the edge almost to a state of perpetual release but he knew he couldn't manage that by himself. Another couple of shots later, he decided that he'd done enough for himself and wanted more. So, without warning, he lunged toward the man standing at the foot of his bed whose own arousal had by now become visible.

The phone was knocked from the white-haired man's hand a moment later, and he found himself prone on the ground. With the wind effectively knocked out of him, he could provide little resistance as his clothes, only the pair of pants that he decided to put back on while the other slept, were torn from his body. Even when he did catch his breath, there was such a wild look in Shinji's eyes that he knew nothing he could say had a chance of reigning him in. Only the only thing that mattered at this point was actions.

Shinji smeared some of the cum that had collected on him onto the larger man's opening. It was the best he was willing to offer in the state he was in before shoving himself inside, the motion accompanied by a trembling groan. Luckily for Kensai, Shinji was producing enough cum at this point that the lack of lubrication wasn't a problem for very long.

Once he got his rhythm, a rough, relentless pace, Shinji spoke, "My dear Doctor…it appears…you've lost control of your patient.

Kensai knew that during his time of forced limited activity, Shinji had been drawing and straining both their raietsu. What he didn't realize was just how much until he tried to push back against the strong hands pressing him harshly into the floor and felt his muscles fail him. He'd gotten the blonde so worked up that he couldn't get away now unless he really, really wanted to, and even then only with a struggle that would no doubt leave them both severely injured. The idea excited him and fueled his own arousal.

Shinji noticed the fleeting moment of anxiety in his friend's features and was as delighted by it as he was how quickly it passed. Part of him, probably the hollow part, wished that Kensai had decided to fight him at least a little, so that he could at least partially justify the force he wanted to use. He felt the desire well up in him to cause bruises, welts, even wound him.

With a predatory growl, but without easing his pace, he leaned down and bit Kensai's bottom lip hard enough to make him bleed. The white-haired man gave a sharp gasp at the attack, "Shit, Shinji!" he tried to express his displeasure at the action but it only egged the other on. A short moment of tearing flesh later, the blonde was lapping the dripping blood from his lip and chin.

Kensai only saw Shinji's eyes for a split second but in that brief moment, he could see that the lust in the blonde's honey eyes wasn't only sexual. He recognized the blood lust and it made his heart skip a beat. Unfortunately, Shinji was perceptive enough to sense the fleeting panic in his friend. He reeled backward with a wild look of panic of his own. "K-Kensai-I-" he stammered as he watched the blood continue to run down his friend's chin. He started to shake as he tried to control the urge to cause further damage.

"Shinji, it's okay," he tried to grab the other's hand to pull him close again but he jerked away, falling even further back and broke all their physical contact.

"No! No!" he shook his head. "Knock me out!"

"We don't need to do that. Come here," Kensai sat up a little and reached out to him again.

"No! Damn it! Why won't you listen to me? You _have_ to stop me…or…or I will really hurt you," Shinji pleaded as he felt his self control leaving him again.

Kensai wasn't allowed time to consider his options because a moment later, Shinji was lunching at him again, the sense gone from him. Luckily for the white-haired man, he still had his wits about him and as the other came toward him he grabbed the blonde ponytail and used that to push Shinji's face to the floor, move out from beneath him, and pin him there.

Shinji made a series of wild sounds and fought with all his strength to regain dominance but to little effect. Before he could act out again, his arms were bound around his body with the jacket he was still wearing. It took some doing on Kensai's part but he did manage to refasten the buckles and once that was accomplished, he rolled Shinji onto his back.

The blonde's face was contorted with rage and shame and lust that he obviously couldn't control. With that in mind, Kensai straddled his friend's hips and positioned the tip of the twitching member at his entrance. Without further prompting, Shinji threw his hips upward with a deep throated moan. "Yes. God, yessss…thank you…"

Kensai couldn't help but smile at the sudden change in pleas and with as hard as Shinji was hitting him, he was glad the man was once again bound. He could see his comrade's hands clenching and unclenching within the long sleeves as he tossed his head from side to side. When he started to lose steam, Kensai could tell that Shinji wanted more. With that in mind, he dismounted.

Shinji made sounds of disappointment as the other withdrew from above him.

"Shhh…" Kensai soothed, brushing the stray hairs away from his face. "I think it's time for the next stage of your treatment."

The sounds of disappointment stopped and the blonde looked up dazed.

"Good. Now, spread your legs nice and wide for me. I'd like to give you an injection."

"Yesssss…" Shinji moaned and did as he was instructed.

Kensai smiled again. "Yes, what?"

Shinji was confused for a moment but the grin the other was sporting clued him in, "Yes, Doctor, please treat me."

"Very good." He took Shinji's knees up over his shoulders and slid inside.

As he wiggled and bucked beneath the other man, he caught sight of the look in the other's face. "Uunngh. Don't…look at me like that…please…don't…"

"I just haven't seen you like this in a long time," Kensai managed.

Shinji considered saying that it was Kensai's fault that he was behaving this way but thought better of it, knowing that deep down it was at least partially his fault.

"It's amazing…Don't worry. I don't mind."

Shinji whined.

"Actually, it's quite becoming for you," Kensai informed with a teasing tone. He used that tone so that he wouldn't reveal that he was at least in part in awe of the other man. He held out as long as he could but released himself before Shinji was finished, giving a grunt of frustration. When his member grew soft, he gave a look of regret and reeled back with a fist.

Shinji didn't know what hit him when the other man's fist collided with his temple, knocking him unconscious.


	52. Third Dose

Kensai heaved for breath above the unconscious blonde. Having pushed a fair amount of his own raietsu into the other, he found himself fighting to remain conscious as well. His mind raced with what his next move should be. As much as he liked to have a plan and at least look like he knew what he was doing, this time he was making things up as he went along and unfortunately, the only thing he could think about was getting a few minutes of shut eye before more was demanded of him. Whether or not he wanted to, he was drifted off to sleep next to his bound comrade a few minutes later.

Of course, Shinji was the first to wake about two hours later. He rolled up onto his side and nudged the man sleeping on the floor next to him with his leg. No effect. "Hey, Kensai," he tried again but to no avail. "Oi! Muguruma!" he actually kicked the white-haired man this time. Still only a grumble. After a moment of frustration, he laughed a little at just how out the man was.

Seeing that it was going to take more that just a nudge to wake his friend, Shinji sat up, with some effort, and tested his bindings. With a grumble of frustration, he realized that he couldn't get out of the straight jacket without destroying it. He sighed. He didn't really want to ruin the offensive thing because Lisa, who had originally purchased the article over thirty years ago, had complained to him about how difficult a good straight jacket had been to find then bragged that by now, it was probably an antique.

He frowned and looked around. He couldn't leave because he couldn't work the doorknob. Then, he caught sight of the clipboard that Kensai had been scribbling on during the ridiculous questioning that he'd been put through. Looking back on it, he realized that the main reason the questions annoyed him was because they were stolen from the list that Kisuke had put them through all those years ago when they were just beginning to figure out what was happening to them.

He flipped the clipboard over with his foot and knelt down to read what was written.

_I know you know that I'm not writing anything important right now. I'm sorry that you couldn't get what you wanted this time. I can only hope that I'm distracting you enough to keep your mind off it. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up with you so I hope you give me everything you've got. You look so hot in that jacket with that crazy look on your face; I hope you're not too mad about all this. _

Shinji had to read it twice before he could believe what he was seeing. Even then, he was stunned. During the moments in which this was written, he had been under the impression that the other man wasn't even writing, simply scribbling to annoy him. He flipped it back over so that it was face down and sighed as he closed his eyes in an attempt to center his thoughts. This worked until he reopened them and saw Kensai's cell phone. At first, he tried pushing the buttons with his toes but quickly found himself damning the buttons for being so small and so close together.

Luckily, the pen that Kensai had used earlier was still nearby. So, using every bit of pedal dexterity he could manage, he used the end to navigate the menu to look at the pictures of himself. He was more than a little surprised to find that the five shots of him touching himself which for the most part were, though he would only admit this reluctantly, had a certain allure to them and he no doubt would have found them more so if they were of someone else. What surprised him even more was the other three snapshots taken of him while he slept, if the restless experience of unconsciousness could be called that.

Seeing oneself like that was an odd feeling and he was starting to regret having done it to Kensai without his permission, even having given permission didn't exactly ease the feeling in the pit of his stomach but he knew it would be worse if he hadn't given it. He pursed his lips and considered erasing them, or at least a few of them, but decided against it because the man laying on the floor behind him was starting to stir.

"What are you doing?" Kensai grumbled as he opened his eyes to find the blonde sitting, still bound, with his back to him.

"Don't," Shinji began but had to take a deep breath to gather his thoughts before trying to express them. "Don't show these to anybody, please."

Kensai gave him an odd look and crawled over to see that Shinji was browsing his pictures. "Call it doctor-patient confidentiality…as long as you don't mind me keeping them on file for…future reference," he nuzzled the side of the blonde's slender neck.

Shinji groaned and rolled his head back to rest on his comrade's strong shoulder. This was rewarded by Kensai wrapping his arms around him and stroking his length. "Ooohh," he moaned, nearly coming with the first full stroke but somehow holding out for a few more before spilling himself. "I…read what you wrote," he guiltily admitted.

"Oh? You were busy," he commented lazily.

"Why would you-?" It was difficult to have a discussion when someone was so adeptly molesting him and his curiosity was quickly taking a backseat.

"I needed a minute to get all that outta my head so I could think straight, so I would know what to do with you," he answered. "I didn't really mean for you to read it but it guess it doesn't matter now, right?"

By this point, Shinji could only nod weakly and try to press himself even harder against the man hold him from behind. "I-If you can…I want you inside me again, please," he pleaded between labored breaths and muscle spasms.

"My goodness, what a crude thing to say to your physician," he teased but rubbed his slowly returning erection on the lithe blondes backside nonetheless.

"Damn it! You are NOT a doctor!"

Kensai, in a peculiar moment of mild cruelty, eased up a bit, "You're going to argue this now?" he asked in a challenging voice.

Shinji whined and kicked hard enough to knock them over so that they were laying on the floor, Kensai between him and the carpet.

The man pinned beneath the blonde considered wrapping an arm around the torso above him but quickly re-decided in favor of harshly cupping his balls, reasoning that would provide him less resistance and he was right.

The slight squeeze caused Shinji to tense and he almost screamed, the repressed sound came out more as a squeal than anything else.

"My, my, you appear to be quite tender here. Does it hurt when I apply pressure like this," he squeezed again, this time a little harder.

The pressure made Shinji cum but he gave a cry of pain in the process. "Ah, ye-yes, eeegh…" he wasn't sure if he was affirming the question or if it was simply an outburst of from his orgasm.

"Mmm, it appears you like the pain," he squeezed again a moment later and was rewarded with another orgasm.

The blonde gave another whine of pain, "I-…Anything is good right now…"

"I see. How enlightening," Kensai teased, digging his nails in a little.

"Please…don't hurt me…if you don't have to…" Shinji gasped.

Kensai released his grip and moved his hand up to Shinji's hair. This time his grip was less offensive as he coaxed the other man to look in the face. "You don't seem to mind harming me," he taunted once he knew his partner could see the blood crusted over the wound on his lip and chin.

Shinji started to shake again and he knew the man beneath him could feel every tremor. "I couldn't help it," he shamefully admitted.

"If that's the case, then those perfect teeth of yours are rather dangerous. Perhaps I should gag you again for my own safety. You know, just to keep them out of the way,"  
Kensai teased.

"If…If you have to…" Shinji replied, his voice weak but his body still obviously strong.

"You said you want me inside you again," Kensai began as he rolled them over so that he was on top and then picked up his friend and moved them to the bed.

"Yes. I want you so bad that just thinking about it hurts," he admitted.

Kensai laughed a little and positioned Shinji face down on the bed, lifting his hips. Then, he started to ease the twitching entrance with the tip of his half-arousal. "I'm not sure if I can yet…it may be too soon for me," he continued his teasing words.

Shinji whined again and thought somewhere in the back of his mind that he was doing that a lot lately.

"Close your eyes," Kensai advised and when the command was not immediately obeyed, he spanked the round backside before him. "Close your eyes," he reasserted.

Shinji obeyed in the hope of further spanking. He was rewarded but not as he expected. A moment of shifting behind him later and he felt something hard pressing into him. Afraid that it would cease, he screwed his eyes shut. Even in his condition, he could tell the difference between flesh and plastic, but at this point he didn't care. Actually, when the episodes first started and he felt such dire need, he couldn't tell the difference.

Once, Lisa had teased him to the point of incoherence, blindfolded him, and penetrated him with a strap-on. The idea itself wouldn't have bothered him but she had convinced him that he was her own flesh, no doubt acquired through one of Kisuke's concoctions, even going as far as to make comments about how tight and hot he was inside.

But that was a long time ago and the here and now was much different. Kensai wasn't trying to fool him; he simply wanted to surprise him and a pleasant surprise it was. He bucked backward as best he could and spread his legs further apart, a moan pouring from his lips as he blindly nodded his approval.

Without another word, Kensai started stroking the jerking length dangling between the other man's legs.

"T-Turn it on," Shinji pleaded.

Kensai tried not to chuckle because that request most likely meant that Shinji knew exactly what was inside him, not simply that it was a false phallus. He opted not to give the man a hard time about it this time and simply obliged the request, receiving a thorough coating on his hand in the process.

When that wave subsided, Shinji spoke again. "Can I open my eyes now?" he asked with breathless hopefulness.

Kensai smiled. "Why would you want to?" He knew the blonde was predisposed to screwing his eyes shut during moments of ecstasy, regardless of restrictions.

Shinji's lips twitched as he spoke, "'Cause I know you're smilin'. I wanna see you smile at me."

"You…?" Kensai awed for a moment. "Do what you like. If I wanted you totally sightless, I'd've put on your blindfold."

It was Shinji's turn to smile as he looked down as best he could to see that he was right and felt the next wave of pleasure overtake him. It was this display that made Kensai hard enough to want to be inside the blonde once again. So, he withdrew the device and rolled Shinji onto his back. He looked absolutely delirious as he mumbled pleas for more.

"You think you could ride me?" Kensai proposed impishly.

"I did before…" Shinji replied haughtily in spite of his daze.

"Okay," Kensai laid down on the bed and got comfortable. "Just don't bite me again, or at least not on the face."

Shinji grinned and made his way over to straddle the other man's hips. He wasn't as graceful as he'd liked but he managed. "If you can keep hold of my hips, I should do just fine," he advised, sliding down onto the length with a loud satisfied groan.

"You probably don't want to hear this but, you are the sexiest crazy person I've ever seen," Kensai complimented between groans.

"You really make me feel like a crazy person," Shinji gaspingly retorted, unable to conjure any manor of scathing in his tone because of the compliment.

"With that jacket and that look in your eyes, you really almost do look crazy," Kensai continued.

"Tch. If you don't fuck me harder…I will go crazy!" Shinji scolded.

Kensai complied and started hitting his friend with as much strength as he could. Normally, he wouldn't have committed his full strength for fear of hurting his partner. This time was a little different. He was already pretty tired but something in the back of his mind told him that even if he had his full strength and a good night sleep, he would still be committing all of himself to the endeavor.

Just before Kensai lost himself inside Shinji, and rather violently, he noticed that the blonde was bearing his teeth again, and worrying his bottom lip. It made him concerned that Shinji would make himself bleed, as he had done to his friend, or even bite right through his lip. So, to prevent that kind of damage, he reached up and coaxed his mouth open.

When his mouth was opened for him, Shinji's moans grew louder and Kensai could see that the biting had already started to leave a nasty bruise.

"You're so destructive," Kensai half-teased but only to keep his awe in check.

Shinji gave a sound of impudence at the accusation.

"If you have to bite, bite me," Kensai tried to guide Shinji down so that he could have access to his neck and chest, the two places he knew the blonde really like to bite during love making.

The blonde screwed his eyes shut and shook his head no forcefully. "No, I won't do it again," he resolutely replied. His resolve made him think that his ordeal was nearly over.

"It's okay," he tried to coax.

Shinji's eyes shot open and if he could have stopped the motion in his hips, he would have, "I don't want okay!" He glared downward.

Kensai was taken aback by the reply and how forcefully it was spoken. "Alright, what _do_ you want?"

Shinji laughed madly; it was almost a cackle and he felt his partner's raietsu falter. "I want you to take this jacket off me and then I want to fuck you until you scream for me."


	53. Cut Loose

"What if I say no?" Kensai asked impishly after a moment to collect his thoughts. "Would you be angry?"

Shinji gave a frown of distain. "Why ask me and then refused me out of hand? That's what makes me mad!"

"I never said I was going to refuse you. I was just asking to see if we wanted the same thing."

"What do _you_ want?" Shinji asked with a snotty tone. He didn't think he should have to ask because Kensai was the one at liberty to do whatever he wanted.

Kensai, for some time now, had been wondering whether or not Shinji was tired of his submissive position. He was more than a little surprised that he waited until asked to express his desire for dominance. "What if I just wanted to tell you no, regardless of whether or not we agreed?"

"Then you're a bastard," Shinji seethed, but was still moving in sync with the hips below his.

"It is an awful thing to do isn't it?" Kensai nearly cooed between ragged breaths, he was so close to release again that it felt like this whole body was throbbing.

He was being hit so hard now that it was almost too difficult to speak. "What?" he tried to demand.

Kensai laughed a little and didn't answer the question. "Ya know, I was starting to wonder if you'd lost your drive for dominance," he teased. "Actually, I'm a little surprised you haven't busted out of the jacket yet."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I think…I almost had myself convinced it couldn't break it. I don't wanna get my ass kicked after all this," he half-grumbled.

The admission caused Kensai a very brief moment of pause because it meant that Shinji was nearly finished. This, in itself, wasn't a surprise to him. What did surprise him, however, was that the blonde above him still felt like he had almost all of his strength. He, on the other hand, was feeling his limbs start to fail him and though he wanted to maintain his dominance through the entirety of their encounter, it was starting to look like he would have to cut Shinji loose in order to finish without disappointment.

"That's a good excuse," Kensai teased. "But I think you just like havin' an excuse to be my bitch."

"What?!?" Shinji nearly fell off, and probably would have if Kensai wasn't still holding on to his hips.

"You heard me…bitch," he repeated, nearly spitting out the word.

Shinji was speechless for a moment, a rare occurrence.

"I mean look at ya. You haven't asked me to touch your cock once! You just want me to bang that cute little ass of yours till ya can't walk!"

The blonde glared daggers downward at his partner with extra intensity because the words felt like they were true, or at least had the capacity to be. Unconsciously, he started to strain the bindings on his torso. "Take this jacket off me right now!" he demanded.

"Say you're my bitch and I'll take it off." At this point, Kensai knew he couldn't hold out much longer and prayed that he'd hear it before it was too late.

"Fuck you!"

"If you want to do that just admit it, you're _my_ bitch," the white-haired man taunted.

"You're a bastard!"

"You're repeating yourself."

"I won't say it!" Shinji shook his head defiantly.

"Come on, after all the other dirty stuff you've said to me over the years? Admitting it aloud just this once couldn't hurt."

"No!" he bucked harder, hoping to make the man beneath him cum and give up this line of questioning.

"And you say I'm too proud…"

"You'd _never_ say it to me," Shinji seethed.

"You never asked," he tried to shrug off and it was largely successful because Shinji had never stated it so bluntly. He had, however, gotten the larger man to say all manner of other disgraceful things in times of need.

"If I say it…you'll let me go?" Shinji wanted to make sure.

"I'll think about it," Kensai verbally stepped backward.

"You just said you would!"

"Then you'll just have to trust me," he advised smartly. Shinji appeared to be seriously considering it until he added, "like a good little bitch."

Shinji gave a scream of rage and to his surprise, it was that surge of emotion, and it's accompanying energy, that pushed Kensai over the edge, groaning loudly until his hips stopped moving. By this point, he was still to angry and aroused to realize that it wasn't just the extra burst of energy that had caused the orgasm, rather it was at least as much due to the fact that the blonde had been provoked so easily. "Don't just lay there!" he demanded, hitting the larger man's side with his bent knee.

"Ugh," he grunted at the sudden assault. "Do what you want. I ain't gunna stop ya," Kensai grumbled. Now, he was the one feeling a bit intoxicated.

"I told you want I want! I want you to take this damn jacket off me, right now!" he kneed him again, this time even harder.

"Oh, yeah," he absentmindedly reached up but stopped short. "You never said it."

Shinji's frown deepened.

"Come on, please?" the white-haired man asked sweetly, even sitting up to nuzzle the man's chest. "Just this once…one little word, use it how I tell you and you're free."

He was about to refuse again but he felt the larger man's hands toying with the buckles across his back. "F-Fine," he caved. "Damn it! I'm your bitch…now let me go!" He even managed to look into the other man's face for a few of his words.

"See? That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

Shinji growled and fidgeted as the bindings were undone.

"You just made it harder than it needed to be," he fumbled a little but kept unbuckling. "Say it again," he nearly pleaded as he finished the last little bit of binding and felt the smaller man's arms unwrap from around his own body.

As soon as he felt his freedom, Shinji started removing the jacket entirely. He wasn't going to make the mistake of being lazy and simply pushing the sleeves up and risk being bound by it again. "Don't push your luck," he warned.

"Please?" he cooed sweetly, running his hands up and down the milky torso now bared to him. "Just one more time," he lazily pleaded before licking up his comrade's sternum.

Shinji shivered at the sensuous attention but slapped his insistent comrade just the same and reveled in the shocked look he received in response. "I may be a bitch but I'm not _your_ bitch. Got it?" he snapped as he positioned himself and started to push inside.

Kensai blinked in astonishment for a second before laughing a little. "Okay, I got it," he nodded and gave an affectionate smile. "I'm just borrowing you."

Shinji grumbled and hit his partner even harder for the demeaning tone. He didn't argue because at least Kensai wasn't making a claim to him anymore. "Was it worth it?" He retorted, secretly glad that Kensai had waited until his ordeal was nearly over to mention his boyfriend.

"Every second," the white-haired man replied through gritted teeth and between gasps for breath. "I just hope I can think of a way to thank-"

"You don't have to thank me," Shinji scoffed. As far as he was concerned no thank you could satisfy him short of revenge.

"I wasn't going to thank you. You don't thank a bitch; you taught me that. I have to thank Ichigo for letting me use his bitch."

Rage flared behind Shinji's eyes but his pace didn't falter. "Then how does it feel to get fucked by a bitch?"

"Pretty damn good," Kensai groaned. He found it unfortunate that he probably wasn't going to be able to cum again but at the same time, that almost made it more enjoyable.

Shinji only lasted another couple of minutes after that, the only outward signs of the end of his final release were a lazy groan of satisfaction and the exhaustedly dazed look that over too his features, especially his eyes. He didn't say anything as he slowly released his partner and withdrew, but only enough to lay down next to him.

Kensai found himself falling asleep almost as quickly as the blonde now reclined next to him. He used his extra few seconds to cover them up with one of the less tangled blankets and was surprised to find that even though they weren't cuddling, there was a certain intimacy to be found in the silent, detached comfort they found in simply relaxing completely, letting their guard down, especially after all that.

* * *

The larger man with white hair was the first to wake after a sleep that he was unable to gauge the length of, both because he was so exhausted and because there were no clocks in the love shack (save those brought in like cell phones and other such things). The no clocks thing was intentional because time was seen as something of an enemy and episodes weren't seen as something that should be rushed or stalled, shouldn't take a certain amount of time. The natural progression, regardless of how long it took, was optimal for minimizing physical and emotional trauma.

However, all this didn't help when he wondered what time it was and, now that it was over, just how long they'd been in there together. When he approached Shinji it was the middle of the night, what hour exactly he couldn't remember. It had to be well past morning, perhaps even past afternoon, being underground made it almost impossible to tell, especially since he was still to worn out to really gauge the ambient energy of the city above.

About an hour later, Shinji began to stir. Before he was really awake, he snuggled up next to his partner. With a contented sigh, he opened his eyes and looked upward. "How long have you been awake?" he lazily asked.

"I dunno," he shrugged.

Shinji smiled. "Have I sufficiently paid off my favor?"

"And then some," Kensai laughed.

"Good…" he nuzzled the strong chest his head was resting on. "What are you going to do with those pictures?" he couldn't help asking.

"I was just thinking about that, actually, but I believe I promised you that I wouldn't do anything with them," he replied, obviously disappointed that he had made such a promise in the heat of the moment, "I guess I'll just keep the good ones and delete the rest…unless you've changed your mind."

"Heh," Shinji gave a dry chuckle. "No, I think I like that plan. A promise is a promise you know."

"Yeah…I know…" Kensai sighed.

"You sound a little more disappointed than I expected and that makes me think that you had plans for them."

"Would I do something like that?" the white-haired man coyly replied.

"After all that, I wouldn't put it past you," Shinji laughed affectionately. "What'd you have in mind?" he traced random patters on the man's torso with this fingertips as he spoke.

"Are you just curious? Or would you actually consider it?" Kensai asked with barely disguised hopefulness.

"If you tell me I won't be able to help at least thinking about it," he reasoned mischievously.

"I was gunna send a couple to Ichigo, you know to thank him," he reasoned.

Shinji was taken aback by that slightly, not so much by the idea of sending them to his boyfriend, because if would let anybody see them it would be him, but the idea that it was as a thank you, as had been mentioned earlier. The idea of actually belonging to someone, being property, irked him more than a little outside of role-playing situations.

"I think I owe him for showing me that one you took. Besides, I think he'd like to know what goes on when he's not around," he chided.

That put Shinji at ease, though he knew the original wording was purposefully ambiguous. "Would you let me pick which ones?"

"I would take your opinion into account," he teased.

"I'd appreciate that," Shinji laughed a little again.

"Come on, let's get cleaned up," Kensai rolled out from beneath the blonde and threw his feet over the side of the bed. "I'm starving."

At the thought of food, Shinji's stomach growled and dissipated any regret he felt about the other's withdraw. "Yeah, good idea."

The stumbled to the shower and took turns washing each other.

By the time that they were clean and redressed, as someone had been nice enough to leave them each a clean set of clothes while they were showering, they were just in time for dinner. They each took double servings.

Kensai waited until the following afternoon to send Ichigo his favorite three. Two of Shinji touching himself and the third of him sleeping. He didn't bother consulting Shinji on his choices, figuring if he really cared, he would have said something by now.

However, Kensai wasn't really trying to surprise Ichigo so he started with a message. "Are you busy?" he texted.

"Not really. What's up?" Ichigo replied.

"Are you alone?"

Ichigo frowned slightly at second question. "Yes. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just have a couple of pics to send you." Kensai replied and then didn't send any other messages until he send part of his collection. He didn't receive a reply for a very long time.

"Thanks. I think," was all Ichigo could manage.

Kensai just laughed and closed his phone.

Ichigo on the other hand couldn't believe his eyes and he couldn't help cycling through them over and over again. Only when the first red drop stained his hand did he realize that his nose was bleeding and as he reached for a tissue to wipe it off he noticed that there were several drops also staining his pants and shirt. "Damn it." he cursed, shoving the tissues up his nose and starting to change his clothes, his hollow giggling manically all the while.

It was primarily due to the giggling that Ichigo didn't redressed immediately, as he intended. He needed a few minutes to take care of himself before he could do that.

"Looks like Blonde and Whitey are even now…" his hollow cackled.

Ichigo didn't answer because that much was obvious. "I can't believe he'd let someone do that to him."

"Looks like he liked it," the shrill voice informed chidingly. "You're too much of a chicken-shit to let that happen to you."

Ichigo gave a growl of indignity and came in his hand a moment later. Then, after cleaning up, he closed his phone and got dressed. As an afterthought, he send Kensai another message. "Thank you for not send those when I was with other people."

Kensai laughed loudly when he read that message. With the nature of the photos and the time that message took, he had a pretty good idea what happened in the meantime and it pleased him even more than he thought it would. Unfortunately, or otherwise, his laughter gave him away.

"What's so funny?" Shinji asked.

Kensai gave a slightly guilty look and quietly explained.

Shinji turned a bit pale but laughed in spite of himself. "You said you'd let me help you pick," he half-teased. "What'd he say when he saw'em?" he couldn't help asking.

"Well, first he just said thanks…then he just sent me one thanking me for making sure he was alone," he winked.

That's when Shinji laughed in earnest.

"I think that means he liked'em."

"You two still goin' out this weekend?"

"I didn't really think about it. We didn't talk about it but I don't see why not. Why?"

"Give'em my best." Then before Shinji could question him further, he stood and went to bed. "Good night."

"Night," Shinji languidly called after him.

Then, Kensai paused. "Er, Shinji," he called back without turning to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"If I start sleepwalking again…" he started and then trailed off.

"What?" Shinji stood and started toward the other man.

At the sound of his comrade coming toward him he felt compelled to continue. "If I do that again…can I just stay in your bed?"

Shinji was a bit touched by the question. "You could've stayed before."

Kensai nodded and retreated before he could say anything else to embarrass himself.


	54. Paying the Debt

For the better part of a week, Ichigo told himself at the beginning of the day that he was going to own up to his debt to Urahara but thinking about it all day always made him chicken out. It was ridiculous and he knew this because the majority of his anxiety was brought on by his hollow. After a night of fantasizing about all the horribly wonderful things that the shopkeeper could do to him, he felt more than ready, even eager, to see the man with the dangerously mischievous smile. However, spending the rest of the day having to reign in his imagination for fear of embarrassing himself, had him longing for solitude and time to collect his thoughts.

Finally, one Friday morning, before he lost his nerve, he sent Urahara a text message, as he wasn't exactly sure of his words and didn't want to reveal the anxiety that would inevitably show itself in his voice. "Are you busy this afternoon?"

"Do you need something?" Even though it was a sterile text message, Ichigo could still hear the man's chiding voice behind the words.

"To pay my debt." He replied simply.

"I'll clear my schedule. See you after school?"

"I'll be there." Ichigo shuttered as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

The rest of the day he was highly distracted, even nervous and to the point where his friends were noticing. No one said anything substantial to him, other than expressing a concern for his heath. As embarrassing as that was, it ended up working to his advantage. When he was on his way out he saw Rukia was waiting for him and rather impatiently. He dawdled for a moment and noticed that she was talking to some of his friends. As he slowly grew closer, he heard Orihime say, "Do you have to take Kurosaki-kun out hollow hunting tonight?"

"Why?" she asked impatiently.

"I think he might be kinda sick. Could you give him the night off?"

This wasn't the first time he had to weasel out of a night of hollow hunting however, this was one of the few times he wasn't going to have to do it himself. He wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste either so he put on his best sick face and made his way the rest of the distance.

Rukia's frown deepened at the approach, finding that the orange-haired girl's assessment was accurate. "You look like hell. Why'd you even come to school today?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I have to go. I miss too much because of Soul Society stuff as it is. I don't get sick days anymore," he complained.

Because he didn't snap at her, she decided to cut him some slack. "Go home. I'll make Renji or someone else help me tonight."

He nodded and started off in the direction of his house. Once he was sure no one was going to catch him going the other way, he flash-stepped to the candy store.

"Right on time, as usual," Kisuke grinned beneath his hat.

"Tch. You're lucky I'm even here."

"I'm always happy that you're here. It's just that today I find myself especially lucky." He led his guest inside and sat him down in the tea room.

"It wasn't even a fair deal to begin with. You cheated," the teen bitterly reminded but mostly to hide his excitement.

"I know but don't worry. I intend to make that up to you. Now, you just sit tight while I make up some tea. I'll be back in a few minutes. Please, make yourself comfortable." He made a wide sweep with his arm, a welcoming gesture, and with a slight bow, exited.

Ichigo fidgeted for the first minute or so at being left alone so soon after his arrival. Then, in the spirit of getting comfortable as well as having something to do, he slipped off his socks and tossed them aside. Normally, he would have stuffed them into his shoes, but he wasn't willing to go back to the entrance for fear that the shopkeeper would think he was trying to leave. Then, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his starched uniform shirt. He was just considering removing his tie the rest of the way when the blonde returned with the tea tray. He stopped himself because he was afraid of what it might look like; he didn't want to appear too eager.

Kisuke smiled and sat across the short table from his guest. Carefully, he poured the tea and slid Ichigo's cup over to him, grin never wavering.

Ichigo took the cup and eyed the contents carefully.

"Is something the matter?"

The teen hesitated, "I-It's really hot."

"I'm sorry. I would have let it cool but I didn't want to keep you waiting."

"How kind…" Ichigo swirled the contents carefully.

"You think I put something in your tea, don't you?" the shopkeeper playfully accused.

Ichigo pouted slightly at being called out. "It had crossed my mind," he admitted.

"Rest assured, I would not do such a rash thing. After all, I poured both our cups from the same tea pot."

Ichigo considered it for a moment and realized that the man had a point. "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry."

"You can make it up to me by telling me why you're so suspicious of me," Kisuke offered.

The orange-haired young man pursed his lips. "I just…have a hard time letting my guard down around you. It's like we talked about last time; you're too full of surprises."

Kisuke gave a gentle smile and took a sip of his still almost too hot beverage. He could handle the near scalding for the sake of encouraging the young man to partake. When Ichigo took his first sip, he continued, "You look unusually tense," he teased as he slid his place setting closer to his guest's.

Ichigo tried to relax but found his muscles tightening almost as if to spite him. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he stretched his neck to one side and then the other. He could feel himself getting even tenser as the older man grew closer, even flinched when he first touched him.

Since Kisuke was mostly behind him and because he was keeping his gaze focused on this beverage, Ichigo didn't get to see the impish grin that tugged at the corners of the shopkeeper's mouth at the kneejerk reaction. The grin became full fledged when, as he started to message the young man's neck, he felt him start to relax almost instantly.

The orange-haired teen breathed a sigh of relief. "Mmm," he groaned a little without really realizing it. "You don't have to do that," he offered, though leaned into the touches nonetheless.

"I do if I want you to relax a little," the blonde chuckled.

Ichigo could offer no further argument. He didn't say anything until he was finished with his cup of tea and had to lean forward to set it down. As he leaned back again, he hooked his finger in his collar and pulled it away from his neck for a moment. "It's kinda hot in here."

"Is it?" Kisuke coyly replied. "Here, I'll adjust the thermostat." He stood, went across the room, and turned the dial. He laughed to himself because Ichigo wasn't paying close enough attention to notice that the temperature had been turned up rather than down. Then, before his laughter could be questioned, he was again seated next to the substitute soul reaper.

Before returning to his task of messaging his guest, Kisuke finished his now lukewarm cup of tea and refilled the cups. He considered unbuttoning the young man's shirt further but decided to wait and see if he could get him to do it himself.

"Mmmm," Ichigo groaned again. "If this is teasing, losing my mind might not be so bad," he joked.

"I'm glad you feel that way. Let's hope that attitude sticks," Kisuke leaned forward and planted a light kiss on the nape of the young man's neck, sending a shiver up and down his spine.

Ichigo drank about half his second cup of tea before setting it down again. He was starting to sweat and pulled away again.

"Is something the matter?" Kisuke thought better of fighting the withdrawal and decided to question it instead.

"It's…just really hot in here, that's all," he tried to make it sound like he wasn't complaining even though he obviously was. Normally, he wouldn't have said anything but it felt like the heat was dulling him somehow, his muscles didn't feel as responsive as they should have.

"Would you like me to turn the heat down again?" the shopkeeper offered.

"No but thank you. It's probably just me," he pinched the front of his shirt and puffed it out a few times to cool himself off.

"You look very flushed. Perhaps you should remove your shirt?" he slyly suggested.

Ichigo threw a suspicious glance over his shoulder and for a moment, Kisuke thought he'd been caught but it quickly became apparent that the young man was simply suspicious of his more carnal intentions more than anything else. That was just fine by him as he had no intention of hiding his attraction during this encounter.

After a moment of hesitation, the orange-haired young man pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way. As he slid it off his shoulders, he could feel that the fabric was already starting to stick to his skin. He even breathed a sigh of relief as the air hit his skin. Normally, he would have argued, put up more of a fight or at least some resistance, but he knew why he was there and he didn't want to be off-putting.

Kisuke smiled and resumed the massage. Now that more skin was bared to him, he felt obliged to touch it as well. He even couldn't help tickling the younger man's ribs a little bit, receiving a jerk and a lazy giggle in response.

"Aw, C-Come on," Ichigo protested through the small bout of forced laughter. "That ruins the backrub," he playfully argued.

"I'd tickle the hell out of you if I wasn't sure you'd kick the table over or something equally destructive," Kisuke teased back but went back to the more soothing attention he was providing earlier.

Ichigo laughed a little and continued to relax. Before he realized what was happening, he found himself guided into leaning backward until he was leaning against the older man, with strong hands working the muscles of his arms and chest. He was almost totally relaxed when Kisuke could no longer stop himself from playing with the pert little nipples belonging to the body nearly sitting in his lap.

"Eegh," Ichigo gave a lazy jerk in response and mostly out of surprise. His back arched slightly as the toying continued to the point where they were hard and poking out eagerly from his chest. He could barely keep his little sounds of pleasure in check.

When he saw those chocolate eyes roll back in pleasure, Kisuke too the opportunity to nibble on the young man's ear. Ichigo felt a wave of pleasure roll through him; it felt like it went straight from the mouth on his ear to his groin. He had felt himself starting to engorge before that moment but that was the first time he felt it twitch in his pants. Now this felt a lot more like teasing but it felt so good that he couldn't bring himself to mind.

"You're making this very easy for me…" Kisuke cooed into the young man's ear.

Ichigo finally let a little whine pass through his guard. "You want more of a fight?" he half-heartedly offered.

"You're probably better off saving that for later…"

"Later…" Ichigo repeated languidly.

"Yes, later, you know…the time when you'll be so hard you can't see straight? When even the slightest touch makes you want to cum?" he practically purred.

The threats made Ichigo's discomfort return, but not in full. He felt too good to really do anything about it. Instead, he shifted within the other's grasp. "Don't talk to me like that," he grumbled.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Kisuke asked knowingly.

"I…I just don't know what to say when you talk like that…" he tried to explain.

"That's because there's not a right answer, at least as far as you're concerned."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked breathlessly.

"Well, you have two ways of answering me. You could either adopt my language, in which case I would be delighted to hear such naughty words come from your lips. Or you could come up with something of your own and inevitably reveal something about yourself in the process," he carefully explained.

"You are so evil," Ichigo affectionately complained.

"Don't be so harsh…at least not yet," Kisuke giggled as he kissed his way down the side of the young man's neck.

"What are you going to do to me?" Ichigo finally asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

Kisuke grinned into the flesh touching his lips. "I have some ideas…but don't worry about that." With that, he decided to step it up a notch. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a familiar pair of items. Without warning, he started clipping the little clamps to the nipples he teased into being so perky.

Ichigo gave a sharp gasp and squirmed as the first clamp was attached. "Hey! Where'd those come from?"

"Please don't raise your voice. I'm right here," the blonde taunted and held the young man tightly against his body.

The teen kicked ineffectually. His head and muscles felt strange but it wasn't as though his senses were dulled. In fact, they felt hyper-sensitive. He tossed his head from side to side and felt the beads of sweat that had started to form on his forehead start to roll down the sides of his face. He thought it was the heat that was frying his brain. "C-Could you-" was a far as he got before the other clamp was attached and thoroughly tested. With that, his words were temporarily lost in sounds that straddled the line between pleasure and pain.

After a short while, Kisuke spoke, "Could I what?"

Ichigo squinted. "Wh-What?"

"You were about to ask if I could do something, or did you forget already?"

It was difficult to speak during the rough attention directed toward his nipples, but Ichigo managed after a couple of seconds. "Turn the heat down again, please?" he tried.

"Oh, I doubt that would help very much…" Kisuke idly informed, allowing his hands to start straying from the young man's nipples to other parts of his body.

"Why's that?" Ichigo couldn't keep his hips from squirming.

The blonde shopkeeper just laughed and started massaging the hips wiggling against his lap.

"You did something to me, didn't you?" Ichigo accused but it lacked his usual luster.

"I didn't say that…" Kisuke teased.

"But you did, didn't you? I can feel it," he shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts but it did very little good.

"What if I did? Would you be angry with me?" he asked hopefully.

"Just annoyed…Why do you always have to do something like that?" he tried to demand.

Actually, Kisuke could tell that Ichigo was annoyed, not angry, because he always got a little crinkle on the bridge of his nose when he was annoyed. When he was angry his lips always curled up at least a little, in a rather intimidating snarl. "Just consider it insurance. Because of your episodes, I don't know how much teasing you can take. I'm just making sure it doesn't take all night."

"All night?" Ichigo hesitantly repeated.

"Not that you couldn't spend the night here if you wished but that's an entirely separate issue."

"What did you do to me? I feel so strange."

"I don't see what difference it makes to tell you. Looking for the symptoms I suggest might be more of a distraction to you than I am."

"I don't think that's possible," Ichigo replied through gritted teeth.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Kisuke laughed. "It makes you sensitive to heat. The warmer you get, the weaker your muscles will become," he explained.

"H-How…? If it wasn't the tea…?"

"Speaking of tea, yours is getting cold. Finish it, and I'll tell you," Kisuke offered.

Ichigo hesitated and rightfully so. He knew the older man was up to something, not that he was bothering to hide that fact at this point. However, his curiosity was still getting the better of him and he obliged. At the very least, he could say he didn't want it to go to waste.

"Good tea?" Kisuke asked when Ichigo didn't say anything for a long moment after finishing the last few sips.

"Yeah…" he listlessly replied. "So what's the trick? I feel even stranger than before."

"The trick is still in your hands," the older man haughtily advised.

Ichigo almost dropped the tea cup. "Th-This?" he looked at it for a moment and then carefully set it down on the saucer.

"Thank you for not breaking it," Kisuke gratefully teased and rewarded the thoughtfulness with reaching a little lower, just enough to start playing with the young man's member through his slacks.

Though he couldn't help but wonder, Ichigo decided not to ask how it worked. For the time being, he was satisfied simply to know what was at work and that there was a reason why he felt the way he did. "You are one tricky bastard," was his eventual reply.

"Why thank you," the blonde continued his thanks by teasing with his fingertips the turgid length that strained the young man's uniform pants. "My, my, you're so hard already. I'm happy to see that your more intense experiences haven't quelled your youthful libido."

That comment made Ichigo laugh. "I think they've made it worse!"

"That doesn't surprise me," Kisuke laughed in turn. "Really, it works to my advantage."

"Then why get me all messed up?" Ichigo had to ask.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic. You're not messed up, just a little…lethargic," he understated. "You could still leave if you like. You know I won't stop you…other than trying to convince you it's worth your while to stick it out."

Ichigo couldn't think of a reply because, aside from the understatement, he knew it was true.

"Besides, after the incident where you ate all that bad candy, I was under the impression that you like to have a reason for letting your inhibitions go, something that made you feel less accountable for your actions," Kisuke continued his verbal and tactile teasing.

"Wh-What?"

"Don't you remember? After you figured it out you could have left. I was going to tell you how much of an effect the drug would have still held over you but you told me not to. You wanted to be able to blame anything that you did on the drug, on me as it were."

"Oh yeah…"

"You know, if it were anybody else, I think I would be offended by that attitude."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't-" he tried to apologize but was cut off.

"I said if it were anybody else. No, I find myself feeling much differently when it comes from you," the blonde pulled the young man into his lap the rest of the way as he spoke.

"Why's that?" Ichigo was almost afraid to ask but couldn't help himself.

Kisuke chuckled lightly. "You think you don't trust me very much…but I think that attitude exhibits an extraordinary amount of trust on your part."

Ichigo, now fully in the older man's welcoming lap, found himself wanting to turn around and face him or, more importantly, press their faces together, hopefully resulting in a kiss. To keep himself from this desperate action, he asked another question. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it for a moment," he suggested and when he saw the look on Ichigo's face that told him that the teen knew he was nearly beyond the point of rational thought, he decided to throw him a bone. "I see it as you trusting me with things you don't think you can trust yourself with."

That made Ichigo pause and turn a bit to look over his shoulder, "R-Really?"

"You can correct me if I'm wrong," Kisuke offered.

Ichigo felt that no correction was necessary and leaned upward to press his lips against the shopkeeper's. He felt the older man gasp at the sudden action and it made him smirk ever so slightly at the idea that even like this he could still surprise the sly blonde. Little did he know that it was especially during times like this that he had the best chance of catching the shopkeeper off guard, as Kisuke was only beginning to learn what to expect from this young, impetuous new lover.

Feeling the young vizard's member twitch with almost every touch, Kisuke reasoned that it was time to pull back for a bit. Settling in about a foot away from his guest, the shopkeeper sat back and finished his own cup of tea. "Would you let me tie you up?" he asked casually, as though it was as in offensive a question as, 'How are you today?'.

"What? Why? Isn't weakening me enough?"

"I suppose but that's why I asked instead of just trying to do it. I just happen to think that you look very alluring when you're bound."

"I'd really rather you didn't…" Ichigo barely said.

"Perhaps I won't then. I'll just have to find something else," Kisuke dawdled.

Ichigo was almost afraid to ask but he felt he had to. "Something else? Something like what?"

The blonde grinned lecherously. "I want you to do something that you don't really want to do."

That make Ichigo frown. "Now that's evil," he dryly commented.

"It's only evil if you think I could get what I want."

"I thought you just wanted to tease me," Ichigo reminded.

"And that is exactly what I intend to do. I just thought we could play a little in the meantime."

"You're doing it again," the teen complained.

"Doing what?" Kisuke replied innocently.

"Talking in riddles. Just say what you're going to say! Quit messing around."

"I know…Why don't you flatter me a little, motivate me to continue collecting your debt?" he suggested.

"Flatter you?" Ichigo spat indignantly.

Kisuke smiled. "I know how much you dislike paying me compliments but you know how much I like hearing them."

Ichigo frowned again. "I don't just make up compliments."

"Then lie to me. Tell me shameless lies about how attractive you find me," he brazenly suggested.

"You're a manipulative bastard," Ichigo snapped.

Kisuke pouted petulantly. "That's the worst compliment ever! And hardly a lie."

"I won't lie to you and I won't tell you how attractive you are," the young man replied.

"Ah-ha! So you do find me attractive. That's a good start," the older cooed.

"I didn't say-"

"Not explicitly, but it was implied. You could have said you wouldn't lie about how attractive I am."

Ichigo grumbled at the verbal snare. He knew that with every word he spoke, he gave more of himself away.

"I think that deserves at least a small reward." The shopkeeper stood. "You think about it for a minute and I'll be right back."

Once left alone, Ichigo was feeling a twinge of regret at having put himself into this situation. A quick glance around the room and his eyes noticed the thermostat. Upon closer examination of the dial, Ichigo realized that the shopkeeper hadn't turned the temperature down earlier. In fact, it was now set almost ten degrees above what the normal room temperature should be.

For a moment, he considered adjusting it at least back to normal but he thought better of it, for fear he would receive some sort of punishment for it. Not that Kisuke would have angry. Ichigo knew that if the older man felt any negative feeling toward the action, it would only be annoyance, and mild annoyance at that. In actuality, he would probably be at least a little pleased that he'd gotten to Ichigo to the point where he felt he had to do something about it. Either way, it didn't really depend on Kisuke's feelings toward the situation. What mattered was that the action would be construed as insubordinate in some way and earn him something even more embarrassing that what was already happening to him.

In order to avoid that sort of confrontation, Ichigo went back to his seat. As he fanned himself, he tried to think. He needed to reign in his arousal a bit but at the same time, he couldn't help wracking his brain for things to say to Kisuke when he returned. Maybe a compliment or two wouldn't hurt.

* * *

This is, of course, just the beginning of this set of chapters and I have plans for what happens after this encounter but even though I know what I want to put Ichigo through during his next episode, I am still unsure who he should choose to see him through the end. I always enjoy suggestions but with that in mind, I ask for pairing suggestions. So far, the names tossed my way are Kisuke or Lisa. (I'm okay with either, or neither, but espeically in the case of Lisa I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in straight erotica.) Please, help me out!! Any input is greatly valued.


	55. Debt pt 2

Paying the shopkeeper compliments might not hurt but the little clamps firmly attached to his nipples sure as hell did. He had just reached up to remove the first one when Kisuke returned.

"Are those bothering you?" the blonde asked knowingly.

"They-They're starting to hurt," again he tried to sound like his complaint wasn't a complaint.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kisuke pouted. "Here," he offered an ice cube from a bowl to the young man seated at his tea table.

Ichigo eagerly accepted the offering and just the feeling of the ice on his fingers, then on his lips and tongue, made him feel better, even a little stronger. "Thanks." The teen barely got the thank you out before Kisuke was seated next to him again. This time his attentions were equally soothing but for different reasons.

Pulling another cube from the bowl, the shopkeeper held it on the back of the young man's neck for a few seconds before sliding down his spine. Ichigo moaned loudly and then again when it was slid back up and over his right shoulder. He even shivered when he felt the melted droplets start to run down his skin.

"You may remove those clamps if you like…if they're too much for you…" Kisuke teased as he slid the shrinking ice cube down far enough to nearly graze the young man's nipple.

Ichigo shivered and gave a strangled little sound. He reached his nearly trembling fingers up to the clamp but before they reached the clamp, the man behind him let go of the ice cube, letting is continue melt as it slid the rest of the way down his torso. Then the nipple he was about to free was twisted harshly.

The orange-haired teen gave a sound of discomfort and tried to turn away only to find that his action caused him further pain. "Let go!" he demanded and reached his other hand up to release the other clamp.

Kisuke's reflexes were still much quicker than his and he started to gently tease his guest's other nipple.

"Nnngh-ah! S-Stop it!" he demanded again.

The shopkeeper chuckled and relented and as soon as he backed off, Ichigo was trying to get the offensive object off his chest. He had very little success.

"Take these off me," he urged.

Kisuke sighed. "If you insist," he reached around again and started to pull outward.

"Ow! Fuck! Damn it! Stop!" Ichigo's back arched as he pleaded.

"But you wanted me to take them off," Kisuke chided.

"I didn't ask you to tear my nipples off!"

Kisuke laughed again. "You didn't say how."

"I asked you to take them off because they hurt like hell. Why on earth would I want you to keep hurting me to take them off?" Ichigo indignantly spat.

"I figured you didn't want to wait. It's usually faster to just pop them off."

Ichigo gave a growl.

"Shhh," Kisuke soothed, reaching up to run his fingers through the messy orange hair before him.

"Don't shush me!" Ichigo tried to pull away again but his rejuvenation from the ice was only temporary. His muscles were again weak and slow. "Damn it," he cursed through clenched teeth.

The blonde didn't have anything to say to that. Instead, he moved out from behind his guest and laid him down. Once Ichigo was flat on his back, he crawled up the young man's body.

Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat from the look in the older man's eyes. Just that look alone made him feel pinned. Then, using almost too much delicacy, the man carefully removed the little clamps that offended his young guest so much. "Let this be a lesson to you," he continued his chiding.

"A lesson in what? Reasons to not let you get your way?"

Kisuke actually laughed at the taunt and it was a gentle, affectionate sort of laugh to boot. "Not exactly. I was thinking more of a lesson about how something as small as this," he held up one of the clamps, "can get to you so easily."

Ichigo's frown deepened. "You know it's not just those! There's whatever you did to that cup…and god only knows what else you're up to," he accused.

"Then why only ask me to relent in this?"

"What?" Ichigo's head was feeling a little foggy and vague implication of the question was nearly lost on him.

Kisuke didn't answer that. Instead, he leaned down to start gently teasing the hard little nipples with his lips and the tip of his tongue.

Before he could think or speak, Ichigo found himself squirming beneath the man straddling his waist. His erection was already straining his pants and practically throbbing. It made him quickly forget that he was just about to admit that he asked for that because it had been offered to him. It hadn't crossed his mind to ask for anything else.

The blonde teasingly ran his fingers along the inside of the teen's beltline, causing him to arch his back and brush his clothed member against the man's legs a little harder. He also received the most adorable mewl of pleasure that made him almost forget what he was doing and fully engage the young man beneath him.

"Your body is so honest…" Kisuke marveled.

"Nnngh…you…oooh…" Ichigo tried to say that it wasn't be honest to him but rather to the teasing blonde but the gentle attentions at his chest and the way the man was now cupping his ass made it so that was all that came out.

For fear that the young man would over heat, Kisuke withdrew and took another ice cube from the bowl. He set it in the dip of Ichigo's sternum and slowly slid it downward until it was just above his navel, then he made a quick lap of it and slid it back upward again. This time, its trail was wide zigzag.

Ichigo shivered and then gasped when it was run over one of his hard nipples. In spite of the mind numbing pleasure the ice cold again made some of his strength return. It wasn't until that cube had melted and another was tracing random wet patterns on his torso that he felt confident enough to reach up and grab at the man above him.

Needless to say, Kisuke was surprised by the sudden action, but couldn't find it in himself to fight it. Instead, he found himself being pulled down by the collar and kissed squarely on the lips. He even smiled a little as the kiss deepened. However, when he felt the young man's other arm start to wrap around him he decided to pull back.

"Don't think that being incredibly sexy is going to get you off the hook," Kisuke teased while running his lips down the side of the young man's neck.

Ichigo gave a little whine and felt his temperature spike again. He almost said that the blonde already had his hook firmly in him.

"You seem a little breathless…would you like me to stop for a moment, give you a breather?"

Ichigo laughed at the thinly veiled taunt. "Another ice cube would be nice."

"I'd rather wait on that…"

Ichigo just shook his head in exasperation.

"Why don't I help you cool off in another way?" Kisuke didn't wait for a response before reaching down to unbutton his guest's pants.

He would have protested, at least to put up some sort of show, but Ichigo's pants were starting to feel a little too constraining and his sweat was causing them to cling to his legs, making the feeling that much worse. He gave a few helpful little wiggles and kicks to finish sliding them off. Though, when he found himself laying on the tea room floor in only his underwear he felt more than a little exposed.

"You look uncomfortable," Kisuke observed.

"It's not fair…you still wearing all your clothes," Ichigo tried to complain.

The shopkeeper quirked a lecherous grin, "You know I've never been one to play fair but you may disrobe me if you like," he offered. "If it will make you more comfortable."

Ichigo gave an odd look for a moment and hesitated until he noticed that the older man was perspiring as well. His muscles responded to his commands a little more slowly than he would have liked but he made do, carefully untying the sash before sliding the robes from Kisuke's shoulders. Because he found the silence awkward, he decided to try talking to the man again.

"So…what if you'd gotten those cups mixed up?"

"You know I'm more careful than that."

"Humor me," Ichigo urged.

"Then I'd say things would be turning out much differently."

"Oh yeah? Don't think you could take me if you were weakened?"

Kisuke frowned slightly at the threat but it gone as quickly as it came. "I will _take you_ how ever I please and you are going to love every second of it." Normally such a forward threat would have been accompanied by a forceful gesture, perhaps leaning forward until he was invading the young man's personal space, or grabbing him by the back of the neck or the hair. However, the stunned and incredulous look he received told him that his words were forceful enough on their own so, he leaned back on his hands, enjoying the feeling of being shirtless in the overly warm room.

Seeing the mischievous man so relaxed irked Ichigo and he decided to do something about it. He reached out to the bowl of ice cubes as quickly as he could but he wasn't fast enough. Under normal circumstances, he still might not have made it, but he would have at least gotten close.

"OW! Damn it!" Ichigo withdrew his hand and rubbed his bruised knuckles "Where'd that come from," he motioned to the cane that had slapped the back of his hand.

"Bend over," the shopkeeper ordered.

"What?" Ichigo demanded a little louder than intended.

"I said," Kisuke replied with unnerving evenness as he took Ichigo by the back of the neck, forcibly leading him to bend over his lap, "bend over."

Ichigo kicked and squirmed but he found that the more he did, the warmer he became which meant the weaker he became. "Don't please! Please!"

"It's a little early for begging, don't you think?" he taunted as he started a solid round of spanking.

"You're a bastard!" Ichigo accused between yelps of pain.

"I don't think I care much for that tone," he playfully scolded.

Ichigo raged for a moment and in that moment, he could hear his heart beating in his ears, nearly drowning out the embarrassing sounds he was making. "You can't do this!" he finally yelled, but found that even the muscles of his vocal chords were sluggish.

"For something I can't do, I seem to be doing a pretty good job. I think you'd agree if you could see how rosy your bottoms," Kisuke chided with an especially loud smack

"Damn it! This isn't one of your stupid lessons! Let me up!"

Kisuke gave three more hard spanks with his cane before releasing his guest. "I thought you enjoyed our lessons," he said with a frown.

When Ichigo finally looked the older man in the eye, he was surprised to find that he appeared put off. "I-I…I do…" he managed.

"Then why did you call them stupid?" Even though he was a little offended, the shopkeeper kept his tone mostly playful.

"I-I dunno…I just wanted you to stop."

Kisuke almost smiled at the sheepish tone he provoked from the young man as he made his next bold move. He reached out and grabbed at the erection now staining the teen's boxers with precum. "But you enjoy it," he took it firmly into his hand.

Ichigo gasped and felt his body jerk while his eyes rolled back. If he had been more in his right mind, he might have even heard the embarrassing moan he gave at the attention. "It's embarrassing!" he replied through gritted teeth. "And this is different"

"I suppose it is," Kisuke dawdled as he laid the young man back down on the floor. "But I just can't resist the feeling of you writhing in my lap, your body responding to every touch…and then abusing that feeling by slightly abusing your flesh." As he spoke, his voice was thick like chocolate velvet and he could feel the member straining and twitching in his hand. "Do you want me to make you cum?"

The orange-haired young man gave an all too pathetic whimper in response. Even just the thought of release made him shake with need. "What do you think?" he snapped.

"I think if you're not going to tell me what you want that I'll just stop asking and do whatever I please instead," Kisuke teased in a dark voice.

"Tch, you're gunna do that anyway!"

"Ah, that may be true, but in this instance especially, I am guided by your desires."

Ichigo gave a grumble of frustration because he knew he was in yet another situation where there was no right answer. He knew that if he admitted how badly he wanted to cum, that the shopkeeper would continue his sensual teasing in that way. He also knew that if he didn't oblige that information, more extreme measures would most likely be taken. Unfortunately, he still had enough of his pride left that he wasn't about to make the admission.

When it didn't appear that Ichigo was going to reply, Kisuke took action once again. He rolled the young man onto his stomach and bound his arms together behind his back. There was some struggle but nothing he couldn't easily handle with his body hot to the touch and his strength significantly diminished as a result.

"Why?" he whined and kicked in effectually.

"Because I want to," the man replied simply. Then, when he was sure the kido binding was secure, he positioned the young man's knees so that the propped him up.

When he felt one of the soft pillows being guided beneath his head, Ichigo gasped. It was so oddly considerate and affectionate amidst the other attentions that it caught him off guard. When he felt the strong hands on his hips, rotating them into the lewdest position possible where he could feel the warm air of the room teasing his puckered opening, he gave a little moan. "Okay, yes, please! I want you to make me cum," he admitted.

That just made Kisuke laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!" Ichigo growled dangerously, or at least he tried.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't like that and I try not to. If it makes you feel any better, it's strictly affectionate."

"It sounds more like you're mocking me."

"If I were mocking you, there would be absolutely no doubt in your mind," the older man warned but before there could be a response, he took another ice cube from the bowl and placed it on the younger's opening.

Ichigo gasped and instinctively tried to jerk away. Kisuke was prepared for this and still had a firm grip on the teen's bound arms. "Where do you think you're going?" he taunted.

The bound young man had no response for that. He was too busy trying not to squeal at the feeling of the ice sliding up and down his crack. He finally failed in this attempt when it slid down over his balls and toward the head of his shaft. "Damnit," he swore.

"That almost got you, didn't it?"


	56. Debt pt 3

"That almost got you, didn't it?"

Ichigo screwed his eyes shut and nodded.

Kisuke smiled, which went wholly unappreciated, and grabbed another ice cube. This one only danced along the young man's backside until the edges were rounded. Then, the blonde didn't waste any time in pushing it inside his guest.

As he managed to hold back his peak a second time, which he only tried to do because he didn't want to give the older man the satisfaction of making him cum so easily, Ichigo had a rather unsettling realization. If the heat he was experiencing was sapping the strength from his muscles, that probably meant all of his muscles, which meant that even if he did ejaculate, it had the potential to be extremely unsatisfying.

The solution to that was obviously any sort of cool he could come in contact with because even just the slightest dip in his temperature seemed to reenergize his muscles. To add insult to injury, or at least that's how it seemed from his extremely vulnerable position, he knew that too much cold could keep him from cumming altogether.

Kisuke found himself thankful that Ichigo had closed his eyes because he knew the way that he was awing down at him would make him nervous. He knew this because he was making himself nervous. As that one melted inside, he took another from the bowl and ran it along the angry red marks he'd created on the young man's backside.

"I'm sorry I hit you so hard."

Ichigo shuddered. "It wasn't that hard."

"Any harder and I would have bruised you."

That actually made Ichigo laugh a little, a sound that startled them both.

"What's so funny?" Kisuke asked curiously but still rather distracted with what he was doing. At first, he thought that the laugher was simply a defense mechanism or a sign that the younger man was losing his wits but the look on his face made him think twice about that.

If Ichigo had thought about it, he wouldn't have answered. Luckily for both of them, he was to the point where his words just came out as they came to him. "Out of all the people who've touched me…you are by far the gentlest."

Kisuke was taken aback by that. "And who might you be comparing me to?"

"Shinji…Kensai…Kon…" he admitted through clenched teeth.

"I find it difficult to believe that I am gentler with you than your boyfriend," Kisuke taunted.

"He's good…sometimes…"

"And sometimes he's very bad, isn't he?" Kisuke nearly cooed and Ichigo nodded. "Then I suppose, if you're taking an average, that might be the case."

Ichigo nodded again.

"And Kensai does tend to be a bit rough around the edges at times. Does that mean you'd prefer me to be rougher with you?" he asked hopefully.

"N-No," Ichigo weakly replied. "I like…"

Kisuke practically held his breath waiting for the rest of the sentence, forcing him to prompt it. "What do you like?" He leaned over the young man on his knees and reached around him to massage his balls.

"I like…what you do…the way you touch me…"

The blonde smirked and knew better than to give the teen a difficult time about those feelings, opting instead to simply enjoy the compliment. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that."

"An-and…" Ichigo mumbled into the pillow beneath his head.

"And what?" he prompted again.

"And I wanna cum so bad…" he admitted and the reluctance in his voice was only due to how desperate he felt.

"Mmmmm," Kisuke practically purred. "Saying it in that voice almost makes me want to do it."

"Almost?" Ichigo whined.

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good tease if I let you cum the first time you asked to," he reasoned.

"Eegh…Then I should have said something sooner," Ichigo mused.

"Then you would have stolen all my fun," Kisuke mused, backing off again to slide another ice cube into the nearly trembling young man before him.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Though hearing you admit it so easily would have been a reward in itself."

"Is that what you want from me?" Ichigo tried.

"Bargaining, or near enough," Kisuke idly commented to himself before giving his actual reply, ""My dear boy, you confuse the end with the means. Remember, my goal is to tease you, nothing more, nothing less."

"You're so cruel…" Ichigo whined as he felt his body betray him in the form of squirming and writhing in whichever ways brought him the most pleasure.

They both felt Kisuke's cock react to that and it made them both blush with even greater intensity. The blonde was still capable of thinking before he spoke, leaving Ichigo, who was just about beyond thought at this point and allowing his instincts to take over, to speak without thinking.

"Kisuke, fuck me," he suggested in a husky voice.

"Ichigo," the older man gasped.

"We both know you want to," the younger continued, grinding his hips backward.

"That's not the issue," Kisuke playfully scolded.

"Probably better that way. My body's like a million degrees, wouldn't want you to blow your load too soon 'cause I'm too hot for you to handle."

"You're trying to provoke me," Kisuke laughed after a moment.

"I don't have to provoke you. You do enough provoking for the both of us," Ichigo spat.

After such an indignant tone, the older man felt more than a little obliged to lay down the law. He wanted to see the dear-in-the-headlights look from his partner. So, he put on his best 'I'm very angry and disappointed with you' face, which took some doing because he didn't think he could be more pleased by the situation, and took the young man by his bright orange hair. He slowly closed his tangling grip before carefully rolling him onto his side so their eyes could meet without obstruction.

Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the look in the older man's eyes. The anger and disappointment directed at him combined with the rough, authoritative touches made him falter. Part of him wanted to be outraged; there was no reason that Kisuke should feel that way and what's more, he was definitely in the better position to do something about it than the bound teen.

However, a much larger part of him feared another humiliating beating. As if the gasping and yelping helplessly wasn't bad enough, he felt fairly sure that something like that might actually push him over the edge and as much as he wanted to cum, he wasn't sure he was ready to admit to not only himself but this ridiculously sadistic man, that he could find that much satisfaction in play that was that rough and that determined.

Kisuke watched with delight as anxiety flashed across the young man's face and his façade was gone, much to Ichigo's confusion, leaving him smiling nearly ear to ear. "Such a filthy mouth," he finally replied, using his grip on the orange hair to make Ichigo sit up on his knees.

"You love it. Don't pretend like you're surprised," Ichigo grunted as he was forced upward.

The blonde just shook his head and laughed as he stood and finished taking off the remainder of his clothes.

Ichigo blinked upward, confusion plastered across his face, "You-You're gunna do it?" he asked hopefully.

The young man's tone made the older give an affectionate chuckle. The look in his chocolate eyes almost made him do it, which gave him the conviction to kneel down in front of his young comrade and engage him in a kiss that indicated an affirmative, when that notion was only a lie. Ichigo's cock jerked when their lips met; this was followed shortly by Kisuke's doing the same when Ichigo moaned at the feeling of their tongues pressing together.

The kiss broke when Ichigo started to gasp for air. Seeing that his guest was almost too hot to function, Kisuke withdrew and fed him an ice cube. It was obviously appreciated, as was the second that was offered to him when the first was finished, and it left him feeling invigorated. His arms were still bound but some of the fog in his brain had cleared and he felt some strength returning to his muscles.

"Thank you," Ichigo managed after swallowing the last of the second cube.

"Don't thank me just yet," Kisuke stood again, this time positioning himself so that his erection stuck out right in front of the young man's face. "Thank me after I cum in your mouth."

"What?" Ichigo spat incredulously.

"You heard me," Kisuke replied evenly. "Here, I'll even help you get started," he stood a little closer and used his grip in the young man's orange hair to guide his lips ward his cock. When Ichigo indignantly hesitated, he continued, "If you do a good job, I'll think about letting you cum."

"Just thinkin' about it ain't good enough!" Ichigo replied, though distracted by the cockhead the brushed against his lips as he spoke.

"Then you better work extra hard to make it a definite," the blonde replied encouragingly.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed but when he opened his mouth to speak, Kisuke took the opportunity to force himself inside, not that it took too much force since the young man's initial reaction was a gasp of surprise. With his mouth full, he glared indignantly upward and bared his teeth, letting them graze the parts he could reach.

Kisuke's reply was a challenging look followed by, "You're not going to bite me," he told the subservient young man in a frank, even tone. "No, you're going to be a good boy for once in your life and suck my cock. You're going to do a damn fine job of it and you're gunna thank me for it to boot because if you do, I'll give you the release you've been begging for. If you don't, then I'm afraid we'll both be extremely disappointed and neither of us wants that, now do we?" he asked in a dark voice.

Ichigo swallowed hard, not really realizing that the nervous tick could be felt by the other man, and complied. After his first few tentative sucks, Kisuke's grip lessened, and became the more affectionate petting he was used it and it prompted an odd epiphany in the young soul reaper.

There was no denying at this point that he enjoyed the strange ways that Kisuke treated him when they were alone together. In fact, it occurred to him that perhaps he didn't mind being submissive and relinquishing control because Kisuke seemed to know exactly what to do with him. This realization brought on a strange torrent of emotions in Ichigo and due to his situation, he had only one outlet and couldn't help sucking for all he was worth.

Kisuke noticed the changes in his young companion's demeanor, but was too caught up in his own pleasure at this point to really analyze them. Instead, he settled for simply appreciating them in the form of arguably one of the best blow jobs he'd ever received. He did so well that he was frequently rewarded by the shopkeeper in the form of wonderfully cold ice cubes dancing along his shoulders and the back of his neck.

The first time Kisuke felt the rush of orgasm approach, he pulled the young man away, very nearly at the last second.

"Uugh! Why do you always stop me?" Ichigo argued as soon as his mouth was empty.

"You were doing such a good job, I thought you'd like it if I unbound your arms," Kisuke chuckled.

"Yes, I'd like that a lot," Ichigo breathily replied.

The blonde smiled downward and let the kido binding go. Then, as Ichigo's arms were coming back around his sides, he thrust himself back into the young man's hot, wet mouth. The young man in question gave a muffled grunt of surprise but that was the only sign of discomfort or displeasure with his situation. The older man felt strong but sluggish hands on his hips and thighs, which gave the orange-haired teen more leverage, a development that pleased them both greatly.

Kisuke came a few minutes later with a loud groan and a shudder that made him think for a moment that his knees might give.

Ichigo swallowed it all in one big gulp before slowly withdrawing and before the thin string of saliva that connected his lips to the head of the other man's cock he looked up and said, "Thank you, Kisuke," in a husky whisper. He'd intended it to be louder but his voice had failed him.

The appreciation was duly rewarded, first with a dangerously pleased look in the blonde's eyes, then by being knocked down and pinned where he landed.

Ichigo was kicking and squirming with pleasure before he even realized that Kisuke was reciprocating the oral service. He tried to speak, to make some sort of reply or comment about their situation, but his head was too hot and he couldn't think about anything but the throbbing in his groin. It was strange, he been in situations where his need was obviously more pressing but this encounter seemed to break those boundaries, at least in some regards. Such as, how out of control but strangely at ease he felt, or how the throbbing in his balls was nearly maddening.

Kisuke took much pride in his abilities to read his partners and provide them with the attentions that they found the most pleasurable. This was no different. In fact, he found himself putting his expertise to the test in order to push the young man over the edge even faster.

Regretfully, the older man had to ease up for a moment when he felt his young companion was about to lose himself. However, this was for the sake of his guest's ultimate pleasure and since he didn't stop entirely, there was no argument to his actions. Then, without hesitation, he took the ice cube that he'd withdrawn from the bowl and pushed it up inside the orange-haired vizard while sucking as hard and fast as he could.

Not a moment later, Ichigo was moaning, arching his back, and bucking his hips uncontrollably. He'd had some intense orgasms before but after such intense denial, he thought his one might leave him unconscious, something that only happened after a long love-making session during one of his episodes.

When the young man's body grew limp, Kisuke let the soft member fall from his lips and crawled upward until his eyes were even with the dazed brown eyes of the young vizard. "Thank you, Ichigo," he licked his lips and kissed him on the tip of the nose.

Ichigo gave a silly grin and chuckled, shaking his head from side to side with endeared exasperation.

Kisuke ruffled his orange hair and sat up, pulling the young man with him. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and cooled off," he offered warmly.

Ichigo nodded lazily. "I'm starving," he idly informed.

"I'll order out," the older man offered as they cleaned up.

It wasn't long before they were decent and their food arrived. They were half way finished, Ichigo a little further along than Kisuke, when either of them spoke.

"What are you plans for your next episode?" Kisuke asked carefully.

"Why? You lookin' for a date?" Ichigo teased.

The blonde laughed a little at the lighthearted tone in the young man's voice, a tone that charmed him deeply. "Not exactly. I'm just looking out for you, making sure you haven't forgotten to make arrangements."

"Like I could forget," Ichigo grumbled and then gave a sigh, "Well, Shinji and I are trying to take a break so I was sorta hoping I could call you again," he admitted reluctantly.

Kisuke pursed his lips and set down his chopsticks.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No…well, yes," the blonde admitted with equal reluctance.

"Well, what is it?" Ichigo pressed.

"Look, I don't have to tell you that I enjoy being your go to for these kinds of situations but…the way you say it makes me feel as though I'm more of a last resort than someone you truly desire, that you choose me because I am one of the easiest options."

"That's not what I meant," Ichigo argued evenly.

"I know that's not what you meant to say but I know that's how you feel, at least a little bit, and I believe that if you really gave it some thought, you'd realize it too."

Ichigo frowned deeply. "Maybe I'll have to find someone else then."

"I'm sure you won't have much trouble with that," Kisuke assured genuinely.

The young man made a sound of disappointed dismissal at that.

"Don't be so modest. An attractive young man such as yourself, I bet you have plenty of options."

"Flattery doesn't make it true," Ichigo grumbled.

"Tell ya what, if you don't happen to seduce anyone else in the meantime, you are still welcome to call on me."

"As a last resort…" the young man weakly replied.

"Best to treat things as they are than put on false pretense," Kisuke answered in a chiding voice while resuming his meal.

Ichigo gave a somewhat sure nod and did the same.

There wasn't much talk after that, at least, not until Ichigo was on his way out.

"Uh, look, I don't want you to try doin' that again, at least not any time soon, but yeah, I had a lot of fun," Ichigo nervously scratched the back of his head, "and I hope you did too," he added hopefully.

Kisuke licked his lips as a wide grin slowly grew across his face. "Oh, I did," he replied breathily as he reached up to cup the young man's cheek and bring him in for a gentle kiss on the lips. His grin returned when he pulled back to see the flush on Ichigo's cheeks and the way his eyes had instantly dilated at the physical affection. "It's getting late, go home," he playfully swatted the young man's backside.

Ichigo gave a playfully indignant grumble at the swat but was on his way regardless with an odd spring in his step.


	57. New Beginnings

Ichigo found that the spring in his step waned as soon as his hollow started listing their potential possibilities. Unfortunately, the hollow wasn't terribly selective and his list included nearly every person that the teen knew, regardless of what realm they were from or how they aligned themselves.

He surprised himself more than a little when he eventually decided that Kon was now his best viable option. What surprised him a lot was that the idea appealed to him. The difficult part now was broaching the subject with the mod soul. This was especially difficult because the decision gave his hollow something to focus on.

So, after a few days of thinking it over, Ichigo came home from school and when he found Kon reclined on his bed, he decided to make his move.

"Kon, you got a minute?" he began carefully.

"Tch, what do I have to do?" he laughed incredulously.

"I wanna talk to you for a minute," Ichigo continued, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's up?" Kon's curiosity was suddenly piqued by the young man's soft-spoken approach.

"I don't know if you realized but I'll be having my next episode in another couple weeks."

"Yeah? So?"

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me out," he barely said, most of his effort focused on maintaining eye contact with the plushy. He'd really wanted to talk to the mod soul with him occupying his human body but after Kon's insistence of Ichigo's prejudice, he decided against it.

"I'm flattered," Kon sarcastically replied. "Why me? What about Shinji?"

"Well…Shinji and I need to cool it for a while. If you don't want to, I'll understand."

"Don't be so hasty. I just wanna know what I'm getting myself into. What'd you have in mind?" Kon carefully bargained.

"I was gunna leave that up to you," Ichigo admitted.

Kon smiled.

"Don't get too many ideas. I don't wanna do anything to crazy but…if you had some ideas, I'd be willing to give them a try," the teen continued.

"Okay, okay," Kon was mischievously rubbing his hands together.

"Really?" Ichigo blinked with surprise.

"Well, if I get a say, they how could I resist?"

The orange-haired teen frowned. "It's just that after-" he began but was cut off.

"I'm over that now. I know you're sorry and I don't think you'll try to pull anything like that again and if I wasn't so furious with you at the time, things probably woulda turned out different. Besides, knowing your boyfriend likes it too makes me feel just that much better."

Ichigo laughed and shook his head. "If you say so."

"So how much warning do I get before the hormones attack?"

The teen laughed again at the mod soul's oddly appropriate choice of words. "Hard to say. I don't usually get much warning myself. Once I realize what's happening, I'm supposed to take care of it as soon as possible. So…a few hours maybe?" he tried.

Kon nodded. "I can handle that."

And so the agreement was made and they both walked away from it feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

* * *

Ichigo's next episode started about lunchtime one afternoon while he was at school. All things considered, not the worst situation. By the time he was allowed to leave at the end of the day, he was nearing the end of his rope but he wasn't quite there yet. Unfortunately, his friends had plans, which he had to regretfully back out of.

He hurried past his family and up to his room once he was home and found Kon sitting in the window. "Kon," he greeted with a smile.

"Today's the day, isn't it?" the mod soul whipped around and eyed the teen carefully, unable to disguise his glee.

"You could say that," he tossed his backpack across the room and flopped down on the bed.

"You're in luck then. You're dad's taking everybody out to dinner at Happy-Happy Play Place," an establishment similar to a Chucky-Cheese, "You always find a way to weasel out of that one."

"It was fun when I was their age," Ichigo defended. "What do you wanna do in the meantime?"

Kon giggled. "We should get out of the house for a bit…at least until the family leaves. Gimme your body and let's run around, burn off some energy," he suggested.

To both of their surprise, Ichigo shrugged and after getting out of the family dinner, he gave Kon his human form.

The mod soul smiled and laughed and danced about for a minute, enjoying the feeling the young man's body. Then, he turned to the soul reaper with a cheeky grin, "Catch me if you can!" he bounded out the window and darted away.

Ichigo squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Damn it." He was starting to regret the deal he'd made but at this point, he had little choice but to pursue.

It was going to be at least several hours before Ishin took the girls out to dinner and evening of play so that gave Kon plenty of time to mess with Ichigo. The substitute soul reaper was far more powerful, there was no disputing that, but it would help him very little in this situation. He was also quite a bit faster than Kon, at least when he tried to be, but Kon was much trickier, which more than made up for the difference. Kon was also really good at letting Ichigo get close enough to tease him for a minute before eluding him and starting over again.

To his credit, Ichigo did give the exercise an honest shot and for the first while, he found he actually enjoyed their little game, but as more time passed, he became increasingly frustrated. This frustration not only aggravated his condition but also hindered his abilities to track the mod soul.

After a while, he was so distracted by trying to track down Kon, he wasn't paying enough mind to how much attention they might attract. Fortunately, either most people didn't notice or those that did, didn't really even care or knew better than to get involved with the person chasing themselves. However, there was one individual whose attention they did catch who didn't decide to simply ignore them.

"Kurosaki!" Uryu called out when Ichigo got close. "Hey! Where's the fire?"

The sound of his classmate's voice combined with his choice of words caused Ichigo to pause. He almost gave an honest reply to the figurative answer but caught himself just in time. With a quick look around, the soul reaper realized that he wasn't actually tracking Kon, he was just trying so hard to find him that it felt that way. The mod soul was no where in sight and because of the nature of his raietsu, he could not be felt out. With marked apprehension, he looked down at the quincy on the sidewalk.

"Kurosaki, what's wrong?" Ishida pressed when he saw his classmate's distressed expression. He tried to feel out any unusual raietsu but all he could sense was Ichigo. "Are you okay?"

Ichigo hesitated for a moment before landing next to the quincy. "Have you seen Kon?" he asked hastily.

"No…" Ishida answered slowly.

The orange-haired teen swore and gave another futile look around.

"Do you need help finding him?" the quincy asked carefully.

"What? No!" Ichigo's eyes bugged out at the idea. With his luck the quincy would find the mod soul and Kon would take the opportunity to embarrass him, as if Ishida didn't have enough dirt on him already.

"Okay, damn, settle down. I don't really want to help you find him, I just thought I'd try to be nice," he adjusted his glasses as he spoke and took up a more defensive posture.

Ichigo nearly yelled, 'Don't tell me to settle down!', but somehow managed not to. It hadn't taken him long to realize that Kon's aim was to aggravate and frustrate him and that realization was probably the only thing that kept him from shouting. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," he sighed, finding that he had to avert his eyes from the other young man to keep from blushing too much.

"What's the matter?" Ishida pressed.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Ichigo barely replied because he could hardly think with the sound of his heart beating in his ears.

The dark-haired teen's eyebrows furrowed with concern and he drew closer. "You look terrible. Maybe you should go home. No matter where Kon goes, he'll probably end up there anyway," he reasoned and it would have worked if he hadn't placed a reassuring hand on the larger teen's shoulder.

Ichigo felt his entire body tingle and pulse at the simple touch and he violently jerked away. "What are you doing?"

"What's the matter with you?" Ishida demanded.

The soul reaper felt his heart stop for a moment, so filled with panic that he couldn't think let alone speak. "I gotta go," he finally said once he realized that he hadn't replied for nearly a full minute and then started to move away.

"Wait! Are you okay? Kurosaki! What's the big idea?" the quincy tried to follow.

"Leave me alone!" Ichigo flash-stepped away. Great. Now he had two problems on his hands, one ahead of him and one behind him.

At that, Ishida concern doubled and he couldn't help following.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Ichigo grumbled to himself while trying to sort out some sort of plan.

To which his inner hollow replied, "Tell'em what yer problem is. See if he wants to help you."

"No fucking way!" This time Ichigo did yell and it greatly startled the young man following him.

"Come on! What've you got to lose? He already knows you're a fag," it reasoned.

Ichigo shook his head to gather his mental bearings but only ended up losing his physical bearings in the process, allowing his classmate to catch up with him.

"Kurosaki! Just give me a minute!" Uryu appeared in front of his friend.

The soul reaper's eyes grew wide and his breath became even more ragged. He started to run in a different direction but didn't get more than a step before something made him stay. It was the concern that the quincy wore in his features. He turned back and took the smaller young man by the arms. "You couldn't understand. Just, please…" he shook him.

"What are you saying?"

Ichigo could feel his hollow clawing at his consciousness and the slight sting that came with the change his eyes would undergo when it took control. "I never thought I'd tell you this…but you're cute when you're worried," he nearly cooed.

"K-Kuro…saki," Ishida barely replied between the shaking and the unease that the wild look in the other's eyes instilled in him.

Ichigo couldn't think. The sound of his name rolling off those sweet lips made his brain short circuit for a moment and he reacted without forethought, closing the gap between their bodies and pressing their lips together.

The quincy gasped at the harsh grip and sudden affection and when he did, Ichigo pulled back and pushed him away hard enough to make him stumble. "What's the big idea?" he asked again, this time demanding due to his incredible confusion.

"I'm sorry. Just go. Just leave me alone!" the substitute soul reaper yelled and scrambled away.

Ishida stood, dumbfounded for several long moments before renewing his pursuit. This time, he decided a less direct approach was in order. There was definitely something wrong with his comrade and he felt obliged to at least see what it was in case there was something he could do to help. The only thing that really worried him was the strange compliment and quick, sloppy kiss they'd shared a few minutes before. Normally, he wouldn't have been so passive but the aggressiveness made him hesitate.

"Shit! Shit! Damnit! Fuck!" Ichigo swore as he ran away. Luckily, there was one other thing from their conversation that stuck with him. Ishida was right, no matter where Kon went, he would eventually get tired of their game and go home. So, that's where he went and arrived just in time to see his dad pull out of the drive way with his two excited sisters in the back seat.

Just as Ichigo was about to go inside, someone called to him, "Oi! Ichigo!"

The teen tensed but only until he recognized the voice as Kon's. "Where the hell did you go?"

"Sorry, didn't realize I'd lose ya that easy. You look like you saw a Menos. What happened?" Kon approached.

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, to tell Kon that he'd encountered someone unexpected during their little chase, but when he turned to look at the mod soul, he saw a figure in the distance, at the end of the block. It was Uryu. "Shit! Fuck! Damnit!" he swore again and ducked into the house.

Kon was about to follow, but first he had to see what had scared the soul reaper. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the quincy carefully making his way toward the house. He pursed his lips and decided to cut him off.

"Uryu!!!" he greeted with excessive exuberance.

"Did Ichigo ever catch up with you?" the quincy asked.

"Yeah, just a minute ago," the mod soul replied carefully.

"Is he okay?" Uryu pressed with equal carefulness.

"Why do you ask?"

The quincy was unsure how much he should divulge. "He seemed a bit off, like something was the matter. Then…he-uh, he ran away. He looked awful so I thought I should check on him. So yeah, is he okay?"

"He'll be fine," Kon tried to assure.

"I knew something was wrong!"

The mod soul appeared crestfallen by the accusatory tone the other was using. "Nothing's wrong," he tried to correct.

"You just said he'll be fine. He WILL be fine. He's not fine right now, but he will be in the future. What's wrong with him?"

Kon eyed the fair teen carefully. "There's nothing wrong with him. He's just…a little under the weather."

"You know what it is, don't you?" Uryu continued with his accusations.

"Look, this doesn't really concern you so just take my word that everything's fine, okay?" the mod soul stated with uncharacteristic assertiveness.

Ishida was obviously startled by the tone but wasn't one to back down, especially when he wasn't getting a straight answer for the second time in a row. Seeing that talking wasn't getting him anywhere, he pushed past the mod soul in his friend's body and started again toward the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gunna go talk to Ichigo," he replied flatly.

"No, you're not," Kon replied with equal evenness.

"If he's fine, then it shouldn't be a problem," the quincy reasoned.

"You and me are gunna have a problem if you keep pushin' your luck, pretty boy," Kon stepped in front of the spectacled young man just before his hand could reach for the knob.

"I'd have you begging for mercy before you could even hit me. We both know that so don't pretend like you're stronger than me. Why are you so insistent about this anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing? The last time I checked quincies don't give a damn about soul reapers," the mod soul countered.

Ishida faltered slightly, pursing his lips and adjusting his glasses. "He…made sexual advances on me and then…freaked out and ran away. He's weird but not that weird. I wanted to know if something was wrong. He looked…disturbed."

Kon frowned deeply. "What's it gunna take to get you to leave here right now and forget any of this ever happened?"

The quincy gave a frown to match. "Just tell me what's going on," he demanded.

"It's…complicated. You shouldn't worry about it, really," he tried to coax the dark-haired teen away from the door.

"I don't like to be jerked around and I deserve an explanation!" Ishida asserted.

"Tell ya what, you leave now and I'll try to get him to talk to you about it in a couple days," Kon offered.

"That's not good enough," Ishida replied darkly.

Kon's next retort was on the tip of his tongue but something happened to cut him off before the words could begin. The door he was defending opened slightly, but it was enough to bump against his heal.

"Looks like we've been invited in," the quincy tried to push past the mod soul but was unsuccessful. However, it did get him moving so they were both inside in a matter of seconds.

"Look, Ichigo, you don't have to do this. You can just tell him to leave," Kon tried to propose.

Ichigo sighed. "I appreciate what you tried to do but I have to do this. Would you mind waiting upstairs?"

Kon gave a nod of understanding and started toward the stairs. Just before he reached the first step, he gave a protective warning glare over his shoulder at Uryu.

The orange-haired teen sighed again and sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's going on?" Ishida demanded.

"Have a seat. This might take a bit," Ichigo dryly suggested but offered a welcoming gesture nonetheless. "I knew this would happen eventually. It was bound to happen, but it's not really something you can prepare for."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry…about what happened earlier. I was out of line and I know that. I hope you can forgive me." He tried to be as eloquent as possible because he knew how much the quincy appreciated eloquence but his condition was making that very difficult.

Uryu swallowed hard as he looked across the table at his friend, whose eyes were locked on him, deep, shimmering pools of brown. The shimmer was what really threw him off because he wasn't the normal sparkle in the soul reaper's eyes. It appeared the orange-haired teen was on the verge of tears. "It…It's okay. I just wanna know why it happened."

"That's the part I was talking about. Deep down, I always knew that I would have to sit someone down and tell them about…the episodes. I guess I was just hoping it wouldn't be so soon and I never thought it would be you."

"Kurosaki, you're babbling. Just tell me what's wrong," Uryu tried to ease.

"Every few months…something happens to me. It's really embarrassing and I really don't want to talk about it but…after what happened, you have a right to know, I guess." He'd heard the argument through the door and that particular point had stuck in his head rather firmly. "The reason I came after you like that was because…because I couldn't really help it. Because I'm a vizard, it happens every once in a while. It's not as bad for me as it is for the others…I really wish someone would've have said something about it before I went through it that awful transformation." Now it wasn't so bad, but the first time was practically hell for him. "I might not have gone through with it," he gave a dry chuckle.

Uryu frowned deeply as he tried to process what he was hearing. "You couldn't help it?" he repeated.

"You kept chasing me and giving me that worried look…" Ichigo's lips trembled slightly as he spoke. "Why did you keep chasing me? Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"

The quincy sat back a little and eyed his companion carefully. That wild look was starting to come back, he was starting to fidget, and his skin was bright red. "I…I was worried. You were acting really weird. I thought you were sick or delusional or something."

Ichigo laughed because that's how he felt.

"So, this is normal for you now?" Ishida asked carefully.

"Pretty much," the soul reaper tapped anxiously on the table.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" he tried to apologize for intruding so deeply on the other young man.

"Don't! Don't feel sorry for me. Anything, but that," Ichigo stubbornly interjected.

"Okay, okay. I didn't mean it that way. So, what about Shinji?"

"What about him?" he snapped.

"I just thought that since you're together that you'd wanna be with him during a time like this," the quincy reasoned.

Ichigo laughed again but this time while banging his fist on the table. "Don't I wish…"

"What's the problem?"

"It's complicated."

"That's what Kon said," Uryu pointed out. "Is that why you were looking for him?"

"Why do you care?" Ichigo snapped, standing so he could pace.

Unfortunately, the pacing gave away more than his anxiety over their conversation. The dark-haired quincy could now clearly see the bulge in the crotch of the soul reaper's robes. The sight made him blush a little. "Sorry. I guess that's not any of my business. I didn't mean to pry. I'm just curious." He shifted, awkwardly watching the other pace back and forth across the kitchen. "I should go. I'm sorry for intruding on something so private. I won't say a word to anyone, you can be sure of that." He stood and headed toward the door.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Ichigo started toward the stairs, anything to put extra distance between them. "You know where the door is."

"Yeah. See ya," Ishida gave a weak wave.

Kon met Ichigo at the top of the stairs, "How'd it go?"

"Good. Come on," Ichigo tried to corral the mod soul into his bedroom.

"I'll meet you there. Gotta pee first," he did a little potty dance for emphasis.

"Make it quick," the soul reaper agreed.

Kon headed to the bathroom only as long as Ichigo was watching him. Then, he bolted down the stairs and caught Uryu before he was out of the driveway. "Ishida! Wait a sec!"

"What is it now?" he turned.

"You wanna come back in?" the mod soul offered bluntly, no time to work up to the proposition.

"What?" the quincy incredulously questioned.

"Honestly, I dunno if I can handle'em by myself. I might be able to use the help, if you're willing."

Ishida gave a disgusted look for a moment before busting up laughing, "You had me there for a second. You really did."

"I'm serious. He obviously thinks you're attractive and since you didn't flip out or cause a scene, I know you're not a douche. What do you say?" he tried again.

"I say, keep dreamin'!" Uryu turned and started home again.

"I'll call you later, after he passes out the first or second time and ask you again in case you change your mind," Kon called after him and then ran back inside. Ichigo was seated on his bed, looking out the window. It was pretty clear that he'd discovered the mod soul's lie. "Look, Ichigo-"

"What'd you say to'em?" Ichigo asked, not turning to look at his roommate.

"Just…wanted to make sure he was gunna keep his mouth shut," he covered.

The soul reaper shook his head and gave an affectionate chuckle. "I never realized you were so protective of me, first fending him off outside and then chasing him back out just to make sure."

"I guess we've both been exposed today," Kon replied with a slight smirk as he continued his approach with the knowledge that he was in the clear. Once he was close enough, Ichigo took him by the hand and pulled him with a sense of gentle urgency. "You should've asked him to join us," he suggested when he landed in the other's lap.

"You wish! Tch, he'd never go for anything like that, he's too…proper and orderly. He wouldn't like something this crazy." Ichigo felt himself melting into the nearly identical body that he was more used to occupying than touching.

"You're probably right," Kon laughed, "but he is cute."

"He's gay too, that's why I couldn't help making a move on him, I think," Ichigo confessed.

The mod soul straddling the soul reaper's lap gave an amused chuckle. "I'm sure he was flattered, confused but flattered."

"He knows about me and Shinji," the soul reaper continued his confession.

"Then make that _very_ confused."

"No more talk, please," Ichigo pleaded.

Kon nodded with assurance and brought their lips together, initiating what he considered their first real kiss. Anything before that was too self-conscious on either of their parts to be as enjoyable or intimate as it should have been. It lasted a full three minutes, during which they disrobed one another and grasped at what flesh they could reach.


	58. Honesty and Trust

"What…nngh…What do you want to do?" Ichigo asked as he ground the bare hips together, causing their erections to rub rudely on one another.

"Right now? I want you to fuck me like you did that first time but this time, don't stop until you're done," Kon replied frankly.

Ichigo gave a dark laugh. "Okay…" he rolled them over so that he was on top and then turned Kon onto his stomach. Once settled that way, he reached up and pulled the half-bottle of lube from the bedside stand. "You ready?"

"You tell me," Kon nearly scoffed.

"You're ready. Just don't scream too loud. We don't need the neighbors checking up on us," Ichigo advised haughtily.

"I'll try," Kon moaned as his backside was slathered with lubricant. He could feel entrance twitching even from that small attention. Whether or not Ichigo noticed was a mystery to him because he didn't react even if he did notice.

One long, firm thrust later and the identical pair was gasping and moaning, a writhing pile of limbs on the small twin bed.

"Harder, Ichigo, please," Kon pleaded between wild squeals of pleasure.

"If I do it any harder, I'll hurt you," Ichigo warned, taking the mod souls wrists for extra leverage just the same.

"I don't care. It all feels good." The mod soul bucked back weakly.

Ichigo would have laughed at that since he knew exactly what that feeling was like but was to preoccupied with his own pleasure to do so. Instead, it came out more as a series of grunts.

Once he was tired of having his face squished into the bed, and on the brink of orgasm, Kon spoke again, "Please, turn me around."

Ichigo hesitated but not because he was embarrassed. Instead, it was the instinct to not break contact or relent for any reason.

"Please, please, I want to be on my back," he continued pleading, adding an extra timber of helplessness for effect.

He wasn't sure if it was the mod soul's tone or the fact that he said, 'I want,' but Ichigo had him on his back in a matter of milliseconds. He was glad he did because it allowed Kon to spread his legs even further, allowing him to delve even deeper and receive even greater satisfaction.

"Oh, god, Ichigo…" Kon mumbled into the soul reaper's neck to keep from cumming too soon.

"What? What is it?" Ichigo asked without thinking while moving one of his hands to cradle the other's head.

"So hot…so deep…" he moaned and wiggled. "So close…"

Ichigo smiled at the idea that he could make Kon cum so easily, then laughed a little when he realized that he'd cum three times already. "Maybe I should ease up," he suggested coyly, "make it last a little longer."

"Yes, please, if you can…" Kon pleaded.

The mod soul sounded so desperate for release but at the same time, in so much pleasure that it took Ichigo aback for a moment, allowing him to do the thing he'd teased the mod soul about doing but hadn't really meant to do.

Kon, seeing the strain on Ichigo's features, said, "It must be difficult to hold back. I'll understand if-" he panted and then was cut off with a clumsy kiss. Then, he gave a gasp of surprise when Ichigo nearly rolled them off the bed.

The soul reaper stopped rolling once Kon was on top and gave what physical encouragement he could offer, "You gotta take the lead for a bit then," he almost whined.

Kon gave a wide smile and sat down hard, making the young man beneath him give a slightly uncomfortable grunt. Then, to the teen's disappointment, he didn't raise up again. Instead, he ground his hips in sensual circles so he could feel the hard member stir inside him as it coated his insides, giving a deep throated groan in the process.

"Th-Thank you, Kon," Ichigo managed through gritted teeth, his hips jerking and wiggling of their own volition.

"I like this side of you," the mod soul confessed. "It makes me feel good."

"Yes…goooood…" the soul reaper's head rolled from side to side. He hardly heard, let along understood, what was being said to him. "Feelssss…soooo…goooood…"

"What feels good?" Kon decided to go fishing for compliments to keep himself from cumming.

"You're so good…You probably know more about my body than I do," Ichigo growled through a particularly guttural moan.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Kon managed, though he knew it was probably true. But, to his credit, it wasn't really his fault that Ichigo's restrictions on his activities left him with an abundance of free time and much of that alone time.

Ichigo didn't argue, he simply took one hand off his hip and wrapped it around the erection jutting out at him.

"Hey, that's not helping it last longer," Kon playfully chided.

"You want me to stop?" the soul reaper asked with equal playfulness.

Now it was the mod soul's turn to toss his head from side to side. However, it wasn't an involuntary response to the pleasure as much as it was his best answer to the question.

Ichigo gave a knowing and sympathetic chuckle.

"Touch me, please," Kon pleaded, better late than never, "As much as you can stand!"

"Don't say it like that," Ichigo groaned.

"What am I supposed to say then?" the mod soul haughtily retorted between gasps.

"Just don't make it sound like I don't want you. I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't," the teen on his back snapped but managed to keep his temper in check so that he could move once again to position himself on top. Then, when the mod soul's mouth opened to moan a reply, he stuck his tongue inside to play with its double. He only pulled back when he felt Kon's member start to jerk in his hand in the way he knew meant orgasm was mere strokes away. "Do you want to cum for me yet?" he asked mischievously.

"Nnngh, Ichi, I'll cum for you whenever you ask, even when you're not like this…" Kon's confessions continued.

That startled Ichigo enough to cause him to sit up a bit to look into the other's features, which were wide and wanting with a desperation that seemed to attempt to rival his own. So that this wouldn't be seen as an abandonment, a moment later, he pulled Kon up into his lap and into a warm embrace. "You're too good to me sometimes," he whispered into the mod soul's ear.

"Only when you deserve it," Kon conceded, wrapping himself around the fiery body pushing him over the edge. "Oh, Ichigo…I can't hold back-ah, oh, yes!" he threw his head back as his pleas were answered by thrusts with even greater conviction that made his release even more intense.

That extra intensity was just what Ichigo needed, whether he realized it or not, because he found himself passing out on top of the mod soul a few moments later.

Kon couldn't argue even if he wanted to, Ichigo was going to fall asleep on top of him and all he could do was make the best of it, not that that was a difficult think to do considering the situation. He managed to get them at least partially covered with a blanket before falling asleep himself beneath the hot and heavy body above him.

Fortunately or otherwise, depending on your perspective, it was this same feeling of the hot and heavy body of the unconscious soul reaper weighing down on him that awoke Kon only an hour later. He quickly found that he didn't have to be very careful to slip out from beneath the sleeping teen without waking him.

He looked at the clock. They still had a little time, but that was all, a little, not enough to risk starting another round at the house before the family returned home. This left him with something of a dilemma. Where to go?

In the weeks leading up to Ichigo's episode, Kon suggested that they make arrangements to stay at Urahara's but was refused out of hand.

"I don't want him involved this time," the teen sternly replied when the proposition was made.

Kon gave a weary but still very contented sigh as he swung his legs off the bed. "I gotta do something…" he thought to himself as he watched the young man sleep. "We can't stay here…and he was so adamant about not seeing Kisuke that I can't ignore that even if it is the easiest thing to do."

He stood and went to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as he was too lost in thought. "Uryu looked like he wanted to say yes earlier. I bet I could convince him to help us out. He even lives alone if I remember right." Then his thoughts shifted from the future to the past, specifically, the morning after he helped Shinji with his episode for the first time.

* * *

"So…" Kon pursed his lips. "Can you tell me anything about it? Or is it one of those things that has to remain annoying mysterious?" he pressed but only because Shinji was still smiling at him in spite of how hard he was pressing the issue.

"Let's see. You have a different perspective of it than I do so I'm not sure how good my advice would be. Maybe you should ask Kisuke?" Shinji playfully dodged.

"That's why I'm asking you. I know what it looks like from here. I tried asking Ichigo about it but you know how he is," the mod soul grumbled.

The blonde gave a nod of understanding. "Okay…let's see…I can only really speak for myself but there are a couple of generalizations I can make for you. It always comes down to honesty and trust. I don't know anyone who would argue with that. They're both essential and mutually inclusive, that is, you can't have one without the other. In order to have a positive experience…" he paused for a moment to think and was relieved when Kon decided to play with his hair rather than press for more details.

With a deep breath to re-center himself, Shinji continued. "In order to have a positive experience, I have to be honest about what I want and need. Other things can happen but I have to acknowledge at least to myself what I truly desire. And I've found that letting it be known to my love helps a great deal in controlling that desire. So, as you can imagine, something like that requires more trust than the majority of relationships can provide," he explained carefully.

Kon swallowed hard at the implication. "We hardly know each other…" he marveled, not as disturbed by the extra weight of the other man's words as he thought he would be.

Shinji's smile slowly returned. "That's true but I have reasons to believe you deserve my trust."

The mod soul shifted uncomfortably. "I…just wanted to help…It looked like fun…You-" he cut himself off until he received a particularly piercing look from the lazily reclined vizard. "You looked so…so beautiful," he forced the words out in spite of how much they embarrassed him.

The blonde gave an affectionate chuckle. "Give yourself a little more credit. I put my trust in Kisuke last night and he turned around and gave some of it to you. On top of that my boyfriend apparently trusts you a great deal. I mean, leaving you here with his body. I wish I could have seen the look on his face when it was suggested that you stay. Whose idea was it anyway?"

Kon cleared his throat. "Um, my…It was my idea," he felt pinned and he had the feeling that it was more than just the intense eye contact that gave him that feeling. However, he couldn't feel the other man's raietsu pressing in on him, making the sensation even more unnerving.

Shinji didn't really realize what he was doing or he would have tried to stop himself. Was it were, he had absorbed a fair portion of Kon's undetectable energy and was using against him. He smiled.

"Thanks…" the mod soul managed before Kisuke barged in again to offer them some breakfast.

* * *

Kon gave another sigh as he stood in the teen's bedroom doorway starting at the snoring figure precariously reclined across the room. Then something he didn't expect happened. Ichigo's cell phone rang. He dove for it for fear that the jingle would awaken the feverish young vizard before he knew what to do with him. "Er, hello?"

"Kon?"

He held the phone up to his eyes instead of his ear to see the caller ID. "Ishida?" he gasped as he slowly scrambled out of the room.

"How's Kurosaki?" he asked apprehensively.

"He's asleep…for now. What do you care?"

"I think his dad is on his way home. Is he good enough to handle that?" the quincy carefully continued.

Kon swallowed hard. "I don't think so," he grumbled. "Shit," he pound his fist on the couch at the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you…need help?" he tried.

"What kind of help?" Kon scoffed.

"In getting him to a better location."

"We don't exactly have a better location," the mod soul snapped, "or we'd already be there!"

"If you want to…if he'll agree to it, you could take him to my apartment. It's not much but I don't think anybody will bother you there," he offered.

"Since when do you give a shit?" Kon snapped again and began to realize that Ichigo's release had given him a fair portion of the vizard's raietsu and it was making him more aggressive and less patient than usual.

"He was so…honest with me earlier, especially after I was so intrusive. I just want to help, to make sure he knows that I'm not going to let him distance himself now that he's different and I know about it."

"Do you really feel that way?" Kon asked after a stunned moment of silence.

"Please don't tell him," Ishida finally retracted but it only added to the validity of his speech.

"Deal," Kon finally said.

"So what do we need to do then?"

"Get up here and help me carry him. I'll try to get us both dressed before you get here," he half-joked.

Kon was dressed in a matter of seconds, having assembled his outfit from the discarded clothes on the floor. Ichigo, on the other hand, was another story. Kon had never dressed someone before, let alone an unconscious someone which meant that trying to put the soul reaper clothes back on was out of the question. As far as he was concerned, those outfits were more trouble than they were worth in every situation including this one.

This meant that Kon only had the sleepy vizard half dressed, luckily it was the lower half, when Ishida appeared in the window. "Help me get his shirt on," he advised at the sight of the other and was readily obeyed.

Ishin just turned down his street when he sensed his son's overactive raietsu start to move away from their home. He breathed a sigh of relieve until he realized who was with him. Then he prayed for the best outcome for his son, whatever that might be since he didn't want to fathom the possibilities himself.

"I never realized you lived so close," Kon marveled when they arrived at Ishida's door.

"It's not that close," the quincy opened the door.

"Closer than I thought," Kon shrugged an dragged his companion inside. "Now what?" he asked, carefully surveying his surroundings.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Uryu impatiently tapped his foot in an attempt to disguise how anxious he was and the way he was staring at his unconscious friend.

"Well…it's your apartment," Kon reasoned.

"Try not to make too much of a mess," Ishida laughed a little, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Kon found himself laughing as well. "I…I don't know if he'll be too happy that I brought him here without even asking."

"Well, it's easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission," the quincy quoted.

"Can we use your bed? Or is that too much?" Kon pressed with playful lewdness.

"Does it matter?" Uryu adjusted his glasses, unsure if he'd be able to sleep in his sheets again after something like that without masturbating at least once before washing the sensual stains away.

"Do you wanna…" Kon trained off, weakly supplementing words with a vague hand gesture.

"Wanna what?" the dark-haired young man swallowed hard.

"We don't really have time to play games. He's gunna wake up pretty soon, especially since we moved him around so much. You know what," the mod soul frankly replied.

The quincy boy blushed. "I don't think he'd want me to help him that much," he managed. "Just giving him shelter is enough."

Kon smirked. "You want to but you're afraid he'll reject you…or worse, he'll take you now and reject you later, after the fact," he accused.

"How dare you! I didn't have to bring you here or warn you about Ishin!"

"Uryu! Calm down. I only said those things because I know exactly how you feel. He's made me feel that way more times than I can count and ya know what? I could tell just from the way he looked at you earlier that he felt the same way about you," he elaborated.

The quincy's frown didn't wane but his anger did. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that if you want to, you should go for it but I'm gunna warn you, if you so much as make him frown, I'll kick your ass," he threatened but then remembered their conversation earlier, "or die trying."

"You're really committed to this," Ishida pointed out. "What do you get out of it? I mean, aside from letting him use you for sex?" he added accusingly but not because he really meant it. It was spoken more as a defense mechanism to something so incredibly intimate than because he really meant the sentiment behind the harsh words.

"You'd be this committed too if you someone trusted you as much as he's trusting me right now," the mod soul looked down at the sleeping form on the short couch, with its legs hanging over the arm.

"Then why even drag me into it any more than I already am? If someone felt that way about me, I don't know if I'd invite anyone else to share," the fair young man admitted.

"To be honest…I don't know if I can handle him all by myself." It was Kon's turn to admit something.

"I see. You gave me the impression that you had it under control except for where you were," Ishida took a step back without thinking.

"I could probably do it…it'd just be easier if I had some help, that's all," Kon defensively replied.

"Look…" Uryu sighed, giving another long look at Ichigo, "I won't deny that he's attractive, that I find him attractive. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to take you up on what you're offering but I really don't think that Ichigo would want me to."

"But he kissed you. That shows he's at least a little attracted to you. If I know Ichigo half as well as I think I do, I'd say that it means quite a bit more than that," the mod soul reasoned.

"When we talked it over, he made it sound as though it wasn't me that he was after, just that I was the one aggravating him," Ishida argued.

"Fine. Whatever," Kon snapped when Ichigo started to stir. "He's gunna be mad that I moved him without asking," he shifted uncomfortably. "I gotta stall…" He thought for a moment and then turned back to the quincy. "I need a blindfold…and something to tie his hands together if you can manage it."

"I don't know if I have anything that he won't just break," Uryu admitted after a particularly intense flare in the vizard's energy.

"That doesn't matter. Just get me what you have and let me worry about that. He has more control than he thinks he does but ya can't blame'em for being careful," Kon shrugged and started to undress the vizard.

At the sight of his friend's fly being unbuttoned, Uryu turned away. "Of course not," he muttered and went off to try to find what was requested of him. Luckily, he had a bandana that could be used as a blindfold and after a moment of thought, he remember that he had zip-ties, possibly the most effective tool for binding someone. He returned a few minutes later with the supplies in hand and blushed deeply when he saw that Kon had successfully stripped the vizard and moved him to the floor.

"Perfect," Kon snatched the items from the quincy's hands.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Uryu pressed carefully.

"Actually, I'm just making this up as I go along but I think this'll work," he answered frankly because he knew it would be foolish to withhold information at this point.

"What is this, exactly?" he tried to tear his eyes away but found it increasingly difficult.

"Well, I'm going to make sure he's comfortable and sufficiently distracted before I break the news about having to relocate."

"Good luck to ya," he tried to leave.

"So that's it? You're really just going to walk away?"

"I'm not sure what you expect me to do but letting you have my apartment for you own personal playground is a little more than just walking away," the quincy snapped.

"I expect you to forget about your pride for a minute and even just consider that what I'm suggesting is the right thing to do, that is…if you're half the friend he thinks you are."

"How do you know what he thinks of me?" Uryu scoffed.

"He told you what was happening and it took very little to get him to do it. He trusts you not to be a big mouth about it and he's hoping you aren't gunna be a jerk about it. I can't help thinking that in all reality, it's your hang-ups, not his, that are getting in your way."

Uryu was about to speak but then Ichigo started to stir.

"Shhh," Kon advised quietly. "Don't say anything or give yourself away. I wanna try something," he instructed before turning his attention back to the vizard on the floor.

"What is this? Kon? Why are my hands-?" he tried to pull them apart until he felt Kon's hand on his wrists and just that soothing gesture eased him enough to not fight his bonds.

"You said we could do what I want…" he laid down on top of the nude young man and whispered into his ear. "I know you'd like a little more warning but just bear with me. If you don't like it, just let me know and I'll stop," he advised evenly.

Ichigo gave a weak nod. "Okay…sure…just don't tease me," he bargained.

"Yeah. I can handle that. You're sexier when you're getting what you want anyway, at least as far as I'm concerned," Kon cooed. "Now, just sit back and let me work." His tone left no room for argument as he slid downward.

The young vizard came at the feeling of the mod soul's hot breath on his turgid member. He even moaned the other's name as he happened. This interaction caught Uryu by surprise and caused him to gasp without thinking, revealing his presence.

"Who's there?" Ichigo demanded.

Kon had to dive on top of him once again to keep the blindfold on. "Don't! Don't panic. I just have a little help," he explained in as even a tone as he could manage.

"Who the hell is it?" the vizard demanded again.

"It's a surprise," Kon managed.

"No! No surprises!" Ichigo wiggled but was practically helpless when Kon started stroking him toward another release.

"Shhh. Ichigo, trust me. Just this once," he nibbled on the other's earlobe. "Let me prove to you that you weren't wrong to trust me with this."


	59. Blinded

Ichigo's bound hands flew to the collar of Kon's shirt. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered when and why the mod soul had decided to redress. For the moment, he just chocked it up to whatever crazy notion that the other had in mind. "It's hard to trust you when you pull shit like this," he growled dangerously but much of the ominous edge was dampened by the pleasure of the clothed hips grinding harshly against his own.

"Come on, you said we could do what I want," Kon reminded again, this time with marked hopefulness.

"You didn't say anything about anybody else," the soul reaper struggled and managed to roll them over so that he was on top.

The mod soul had more of his sense about him than the young man now on top of him which allowed him to stop Ichigo's hands short of the blindfold once again, this time by ducking his head in the loop created by the vizard's arms and pulling up to catch the bound wrists on the back of his neck. "Gimme a chance, damn it!" Kon yelled back.

"If you don't want me to see, then at least tell me who!" Ichigo snapped.

"It doesn't matter who it is. What matters is that I need their help which means you do too!" the mod soul asserted.

During this exchange, Ishida couldn't help standing back and simply gawking at them. It was taking so much of his concentration to try processing what was happening in front of him that he wasn't really thinking about how long or how intently he was staring at the identical pair.

"You really mean that?" the vizard gasped, an uneasy frown playing across his lips.

"Yes…I do," Kon replied evenly and felt the body above him slacken slightly.

Ichigo breathed an apprehensive sigh. "Okay…" He was so desperate for more pleasure that he couldn't argue any longer. If there was another person there who wanted to make him cum, he wasn't in a state to argue. He just wished he was allowed to see who it was as it was the secret that bothered him now more than anything.

"Good," Kon resolutely replied and rolled them back over. Then, after removing himself from Ichigo's arms, motioned for Ishida to come closer. "Now all you have to do is prove to him that you were worth all that arguing," he smartly informed.

The quincy felt himself drawn to his desperate classmate, pulled by unseen forced toward his prone figure on the ground. However, once he was within arm's reach, he hesitated, giving the mod soul a look that asked for guidance.

Kon just smirked and made a pantomime for blowjob.

Uryu couldn't hold back his blush but after coming this far, he felt compelled to continue, at least until he was told otherwise. Once Kon was out of his way, he crawled between the vizard's legs and leaned down to lap at the cum that ran down the sides of the member jutting out before him.

Ichigo gave a strangled whine and kicked a little. "More!" he demanded of the mystery lover.

Kon laughed a little. "He's right. If you're gunna do it, do it. Save the teasing for a different time," he advised playfully.

The quincy swallowed hard and opened his mouth as wide as he could as he carefully descended on the throbbing flesh before him. A muffled sound of surprise followed when Ichigo came in his mouth a moment later, before he had even fully descended. He swallowed again, this time to clear his mouth and it was the vizard's turn to make a sound of surprise, this one much more heated, as the sensation of the swallowing around his member nearly sent him over the edge again.

Ichigo's head rolled from side to side in Kon's lap as he received the much anticipated pleasure that steamrollered his good sense. The only things he could think about were how good that hot mouth felt on his member and wonder whose it was. Possibilities raced through his mind as he tried to take in every detail that he could to solve the puzzle. What really bothered him was that he could tell just from the oral pleasure he was receiving that it wasn't coming from anybody who'd done that to him before or at least it was someone very good at disguising their technique.

After a couple of minutes and a handful of orgasms later, Ichigo finally tried to reach down and touch the one so adeptly pleasuring him. Unfortunately, Kon caught his hands again.

"Let me touch you," Ichigo ignored his first partner and tried focusing on the second.

Uryu hesitated but when that caused the vizard to make sounds of discomfort, he simply went back to what he was doing, which was practically drowning in the more rambunctious teen's cum or at least that's what it felt like.

"That would give it away," Kon warned.

"That's the point!" Ichigo pulled harder and jerked his hands away from the mod soul's.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Kon barely grabbed one of Ichigo's arms again.

Though the idea of a mystery lover did greatly arouse Ichigo, that excitement and concern made it so he couldn't sufficiently relax, a distraction he wanted remedied as quickly as possible in the hope that it would allow him even greater heights of pleasure. He didn't reply to the question. There was no way he could explain something that complicated in his current state. Instead, he jerked his hands away again and this time was successful in touching the head bobbing between his legs.

Had he been thinking, he would have gone for the blindfold again. That would eliminate all the guessing. As it were, he was driven by the need for physical contact just as much as the desire to know who was pleasuring him. Looking back on it later, he would realize he was glad he didn't go for the blindfold because it protected him from uncomfortable eye contact that had a habit of making him say or do things he didn't really mean out of some stupid defense mechanism.

The vizard's hands made contact with smooth, straight hair. His heart fluttered for a split second because that was one of Shinji's characteristics but in that same heart, he knew that this person could not possibly be his boyfriend. A second later, his fingers made contact with something hard running behind the other's ear. Ichigo gave a heated gasp and used his grip to urge the other further, not that the urging was necessary.

Ichigo's first guess, after eliminating anyone he'd been with previously, had been Uryu because he could feel the quincy's raietsu near and around him. However, he dismissed the idea for several reasons. Primarily because he thought that the quincy would not do such a thing to him but also because he thought that the only reason he felt the energy was because of their brief encounter earlier. Even when he was making love to Kon earlier that evening, he could feel the quincy's raietsu tingling in the back of his mind so he tried to dismiss the continued, nagging feeling right up until he felt the other young man's spectacles. Then, he could think of no one else.

However, Ichigo couldn't help still having some doubts and instinctively he knew to hold back from moaning the other's name until he was sure that's who it was. So, without thinking, he pulled the other upward, even though it meant abandoning his erection, to lock lips with the person indulging him in such strangely kinky ways.

Even through the taste of his own cum, Ichigo knew who it was. His suspicions were confirmed and he moaned the quincy's name without further forethought. "Uuuryuuu," he cooed.

Ishida gasped again at the idea that it was their kiss that gave away his identity.

"I don't understand…" Ichigo whined. "Nnngh…but I don't care…just, my hands, please…" he pleaded.

Uryu smiled and there was a sparkle in his eyes that went unappreciated by the one who elicited it. Without a second thought, he reached up and took the plastic tie between his fingers. After a moment of focusing his raietsu, the tie was broken and Ichigo was moaning and writhing beneath him. When he looked down he saw the cum that now threatened to stain his shirt as far up as the collar. The surge in his energy had caused the other young man to orgasm and rather intensely at that.

As he forced his eyes back upward, he could see why Ichigo hadn't been fighting the zip-tie as hard as he could. There was an angry red line across both the vizard's wrists from where the plastic had dug in. A slightly closer look revealed that it had been tied so tightly that he was almost bleeding from it.

Before Ichigo could realize what was happening, his wrists were in Uryu's hands and there was another surge of raietsu causing another violent orgasm. "Fuck!" he growled through gritted teeth. The healing kido seemed to have an even more intense effect on him than the offensive kind that had been used to break the tie.

Ichigo was used to sensing the young quincy's raietsu but that didn't lessen the thrillingly foreign sensation of that kind of rare energy pulsing through him. Instinctively, he pushed back with his own energy, with everything he had.

Unfortunately, everything he had was quite a bit more than Ishida was expecting and it practically knocked the wind out of him. This happened to be one of the moments that Kon was glad he had decided to blindfold his roommate and that it stayed on because the quincy almost appeared frightened by the intensity of the energy being directed toward him.

"You heard'em," Kon urged.

"Wh-?" Uryu barely asked.

"Fuck'em," the urging continued.

"What?" the quincy repeated but this time it was with spoken with incredulity.

"Aaahhh!" Ichigo moaned and wiggled between them, making their exchange all the more urgent.

Kon reached into his pocket. "This is all we got so make it last," he handed over the remaining lube from the teen's beside stand.

"Kurosaki…is that what you want?" Ishida gasped.

"You don't have to…I know how you feel about me…" Ichigo was about to continue by thanking the quincy for all he had done up to this point when he was interrupted.

"Maybe I shouldn't," Uryu spoke in a soft voice to the mod soul.

"Don't waste your breath. He's not gunna believe you want him until you screw him silly so you'd better just get to it. Here," he reached down and spread the vizard's legs.

"Damnit, Kon!" Ichigo kicked and freed himself once again from the other's grasp. It wasn't that that wasn't what he wanted. In fact, the very idea of having the quincy inside him made him quiver with anticipation in places he was unaware could quiver. He just didn't like the way they were talking about him, almost like he wasn't there. It was only when he realized that in actuality, he wasn't really all there and tried to let the discomfort fade. "Just…Just do it, if you're gunna. Don't make me wait for it!" he finally pleaded and just as he did he heard his hollow cackling in the back of his mind.

"Feeling rather submissive today, are we?" the dark creature taunted. "First giving the mod soul whatever he wants and now begging this pretty quincy to fuck you," he continued.

"Shut up!" Ichigo tossed his head from side to side wildly, his voice calling to a distant presence that neither of his partners could identify. "It has to be…to be this…" he muttered.

"And why is that?" the malevolent voice hissed. "You could overpower both of them right now without even trying! _Take_ what you want! They _want_ to give it to you!"

"No! I can't do that!" Ichigo shouted, taking the other two aback more than just a little.

"Ichigo!" Kon shook the vizard. "What's the matter? Can't do what?" he even moved around and lifted the blindfold. He shouldn't have been surprised to find the first signs of the black tendrils creeping in from the corners of the vizard's eyes. "Shit!"

"What's that matter?" Ishida pressed, his heart suddenly racing with fear instead of arousal.

"You gunna do it or what?" Kon demanded impatiently.

"What kind of a question is that?" the quincy snapped.

"If you're not, then I will," the mod soul started to push the other out of his way.

"Now don't be so hasty," Uryu barely recovered as he quickly stripped, positioned himself, and poured on the lube. Now that the blindfold had been lifted, he could see the wildly vacant look in the vizard's eyes as he pushed his way inside. "Aaah," he gasped, "Sooo….hot…" he groaned.

"Come on! I know you're stronger than that!" Ichigo yelled with a growl as he wrapped his legs around the fair body above him.

"Uuungh," Ishida made a sound of surprise at the sudden aggressiveness. "Kuro-saki…"

"And don't call me that when we're naked!" Ichigo demanded forcefully. "I'd say something this…puts us on a first name basis," he growled.

"I-chi-go?" Uryu managed in a small voice after a moment and it triggered another orgasm in his friend.

"Aaaah, yes! Don't stop! Don't stop 'til you're totally spent!" he ordered forcefully.

"Anything less than that _would_ be teasing," Kon added offhandedly as he sat back for a moment to admire the pair.

"You…You're just gunna…sit there and watch us?" Uryu snapped when he noticed Kon's uninvolved gawking.

"I'm still…recovering," Kon covered playfully. "I'll join you again shortly."

"Forget about him!" Ichigo demanded as he reached down and took hold of the narrow hips between his thighs.

Uryu didn't last long after that. "Ichigo, I'm sorry…I have to-I can't hold back," he admitted.

"Then do it!" the orange-haired vizard, "And make it count!"

The quincy braced himself by placing one hand on the vizard's heaving chest and the other on the small of his back. Moments later, he was tumbling over the edge with an outburst that sounded remarkably like 'Ichigo' but was too guttural to be a real word.

They could hear Kon giggling madly in the background but neither paid him any attention until he started to approach them again.

"Ichigo, I just wanna say-" Uryu began but was pushed out of the way before he could finish.

"My turn!" Kon giddily informed as he placed the head of his cock at the vizard's leaking entrance. "I love sloppy seconds!"

Initially, Ichigo was offended by Kon's behavior, but when he was penetrated again while having his cock stroked, he couldn't argue. He just nodded and bucked back eagerly.

Uryu sat back, pride more than a little bruised at how quickly he was pushed aside. He was just about to get up to leave when he was called back.

"Uryu…" Ichigo moaned as he looked over and saw the slightly dejected look the quincy couldn't hide. "Come back, if you want to…please, don't leave…"

Kon barely heard that exchange because he was so lost in his own pleasure but what he did hear gave him an 'I told you so,' sort of grin.

Without thinking, Uryu started crawling back to his classmate.

"You wanna watch'em really go crazy, hop on here," the mod soul crudely gestured to the member in his hand.

The quincy looked down at Ichigo's swollen member. He wanted to do it but he was unsure if he was prepared to take it as quickly as the situation required. Well, he could probably do it, but not without hurting himself at least a little.

"Nnnnnngh," Ichigo squealed at the thought of the lithe quincy riding his member, especially with Kon so unabashedly inside him. The very idea made him cum and rather violently after that.

Ishida hesitated but only because he was so surprised by the substitute soul reaper's reactions. So much about him was different. He never imagined that his friend could be so lascivious. Well, there was that bite mark on his ass, which was healed now but at the time appeared quite fierce. But at the same time, there was so much that was the same. He was still short-tempered, object-oriented, pushy, and rambunctious. However, he was also oddly considerate of those around him.

After a moment, the quincy swallowed hard, "Only if you put the blindfold back on," he bargained.

Ichigo, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. Without thinking, he pulled the blindfold back down over his eyes and held his breath.

The dark-haired teen gasped and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. With a hard swallow, he looked back to Kon, "Where'd that bottle go?" he asked in as even a voice as possible, which was still pretty shaky.

Kon smirked. "Sorry, bud," he tossed the bottle over. "It's pretty much gone." Actually, Kon sort of did that on purpose to see if the quincy had any of his own to share. And even then, if he didn't what he would do.

Luckily, Uryu did have some of his own. "I'll be right back," he barely said before retreating to the bathroom.

As the quincy exited, Kon hitched one of Ichigo's knees under his elbow and leaned over him. "We got pretty lucky, if you don't mind me saying," he muttered into the vizard's ear.

"Well, see…" Ichigo groaned back.

"At least you're giving him a chance," the mod soul replied.

"This is still me giving you a chance. If this ends bad, I'm blaming you, not him," the vizard resolutely replied between ragged breaths.

Neither of them realized that Uryu had returned by that point, "Then I guess that means I can do whatever I want…if I'm not gunna get blamed for it," he interjected, his tone playfully dark.

Ichigo was about to speak again, but he was distracted by Kon's moving back again to give his classmate room to work. Instead, he ended up kicking futilely until they were back in position. He couldn't see again and it was driving him crazy. "Do whatever you're gunna do! What are you waiting for?" he was practically trembling with anticipation.

"Get to it!" Kon continued the encouragement. "I'm not gunna last much longer either way," he admitted. The way that Ichigo's body was shaking was making his vision blur and he wasn't sure how much more he could take before he finally lost himself.

Ishida gave a small grumble, but only because he didn't like being ordered around, as he knelt down next to the pair. He didn't realize he was also shaking until he started to pour some of the lube into his hand and rub it on the soul reaper's erection.

"Aaah! It's…warm…what?" Ichigo gasped and shook his head from side to side.

"It's supposed to be," the quincy answered.

"Something normal would have been just fine," the vizard grumbled and bucked into the welcoming hand.

"Sorry, it's all I have," he frowned slightly.

"Is it too much for ya?" Kon playfully challenged to keep himself from cumming. He could feel Ichigo's body reacting to the warming lubricant and that meant incredible sensations for him.

"I-eh…It's fine, whatever works," Ichigo conceded.

Ishida's largely unappreciated smile returned but only until he started applying some of the lube to himself, which made him bite his lip.

Disturbed by the momentary retreat, Ichigo reached out blindly to his quincy classmate. He had to know what the other was doing, even if he couldn't see, no one said anything about trying to keep his hands to himself. When he realized that one of Ishida's hands was on the ground while the other ventured between his legs to his ass, he followed the latter to the fingertips and started to help as best he could.

"Ah, Ichigo!" Ishida gasped at the forwardly intimate touches.

"Come'ere," the vizard grabbed the quincy by the waist and pulled him over until he was straddling his stomach.

Ishida hadn't intended to allow Ichigo to test him before entering him. He had a feeling deep down that he wasn't ready for it, that it would be too much too quickly, and that he would probably end up hurting himself trying to please the other. It was something he was willing to do, even just to see what kind of face Ichigo would make as he came inside him, especially with as tight as he was.

He had asked for the blindfold because he didn't want his comrade to see the look of pain he wouldn't be able to hide as he was penetrated. There was a small chance he would be able to control his vocal outbursts but there was no way he would be able to do that and disguise his expressions.

That line of thought quickly ended when Ichigo stuck one finger inside him and started to wiggle it around. Then, he found himself on all fours with his hands resting on the soul reaper's shoulders.

Kon tried not to laugh, even though it was with delight, as he watched the two teens before him because he knew it would make them even more self conscious than they already were, which was quite a lot to say the least.

Ichigo bit his lip as he tested the tightness of his dark-haired companion. Only because of his experiences could he tell that the other wasn't ready. He could feel it not only in the tightness of the muscles but the resistance they offered.

"Quit messing around," Uryu gasped as he pulled Ichigo's hand away and tried to back onto his member.

Ichigo glared but because of the cloth over his eyes, it did no good. He didn't want to call the quincy out for the error he was trying to make but he was giving him little choice. As a distraction, he put his hand back where it was while the other moved Uryu's returning erection. "Don't rush it now," he coaxed, hoping that if he made it sound like it was for his benefit, that the other would ease up.

It worked. "Then what do you want me to do? I can't just sit here," the quincy argued, though more than a little relieved.

"Let me touch you," he moaned as Kon started to hit him extra hard.

Not that Uryu had much choice. As the other teen spoke his hands were all over him in places both obscene and descent, though they all seemed obscene at this point.

The mod soul was more than a little surprised by Ichigo's restraint and he wondered where it came from since Uryu seemed more than willing and on top of that, the vizard was very near another peak at the time.

"I don't understand…a minute ago you were all go, go, go!" the quincy whined at the lovely attention as he spoke. Ichigo's experience was starting to show and it was more intimidating than he thought it would be.

"It's not all go, go, go," Ichigo tried to argue through gritted teeth.

"Yeah," Kon scoffed, "It's more like go, go, go, stop! Repeat," he laughed crudely.

Ichigo found himself laughing as well because of how true it was.

"This doesn't feel like stop," Uryu argued playfully.

"How 'bout yield," Ichigo bargained as he started to pull the quincy's hips upward.

"Ah, what are you doing?" he gasped but tried not to fight the forward motions.

Ichigo didn't answer. He simply flicked his tongue out in search of the cockhead that he knew was near his face.

Uryu's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the sightless soul reaper wontonly searching out his cock with his hot, wet, wanting mouth. Without thinking, he guided himself toward the target present to him so enticingly.

The quincy was the only one who was surprised by the moan Ichigo gave around his cock as it slid along his tongue, allowing him to taste the precum that leaked from the tip. He would have also been surprised to see the vizard cumming from the taste but he wasn't facing the right direction and was too distracted to notice.

Kon, on the other hand, was practically awing at the sight of his roommate eagerly nursing the quincy's cock while carefully penetrating his backside. The sight alone had him nearly over the edge but when the other's especially intense orgasm hit, he felt himself crumbling. "Ichigo..I gotta-ah," he bit his lip to hold back but it was a largely futile effort. The only thing that could stop him now was complete withdraw, something no one wanted.

The only response the teen on his back could give was another moan of pleasure as he wrapped his legs even more tightly around the mod soul and bucked even harder.

"Uuugh, Ichi-gahhhh," Kon moaned during the final throws of his release. Then, once it was over, he had a choice. He could focus his attention on either Uryu or Ichigo or he could just hang back. Unless he was exhausted, the third option wasn't really an option, he knew that.

That left the throbbing member shooting cum almost rhythmically at this point. It would have been more so but it seemed the quincy had yet to realize the pattern being produced by the vizard's energy. Or the tight little asshole that was exposed to him for probably the only time it would ever be.

If only for the sheer surprise factor, Kon went with Uryu figuring that he could always go back to Ichigo if things didn't work out there. In a matter of seconds his tongue was joining Ichigo's fingers in teasing the quincy's entrance.

Uryu made a disgruntled sound of surprise at the addition and reached back, smacking the mod soul on the side of the head for his intrusion.

"Ow! Hey!" the mod soul backed off just the same.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done, Ichigo withdrew. "Hey, you don't have to let'em do it, but don't go hitting him for it!" he reprimanded because even though he couldn't sense the mod soul's energy specifically, he could still feel the negative pulse that the lashing out had caused.

"S-Sorry," the quincy barely turned to apologize but there was genuine repentance in his voice. "You just…surprised me I guess…" he managed.

Ichigo gave a nod of approval and went back to what he was doing.

Kon, not one to give up so easily, crawled up behind the quincy, not stopping until their bodies were flush. "Please? I wanna taste you too," he cooed into the quincy's ear.

"What about Ichigo? Shouldn't you-?" he protested weakly.

At the sound of his own name, he withdrew again. Then, to prove he trusted Kon, he said, "Let'em do what he wants. It could be interesting." Then he went back to what he was doing.


	60. New Sight

Uryu couldn't begin to comprehend his friend's strange behavior. It seemed to him that the only one worth paying sexual attention to in this situation would be Ichigo. However, it also seemed there was no arguing with it so he simply bit his lip and nodded, receiving a quick kiss on his right ear before Kon slipped back down his body to get back to what he was doing.

The quincy felt his entire body flush hotly when he realized that he was now the center of attention and even more so when he realized that he was quickly becoming putty in their hands or, more appropriately, mouths. The very idea made him feel conflicted as his pride waged war on his immersion into pleasure.

He wasn't sure how but he managed to hold back his peak when both of Ichigo's index fingers rudely pushed their tips inside him and started to gently pull in opposite directions while Kon greedily pushed his tongue inside. His pride wouldn't let him consider, even in retrospect, that it was Ichigo holding him back and on purpose.

"I…" he grit his teeth as his breath came in sharp gasps, "I don't understand." He nearly came again when the weak protest was answered by a chuckling which was felt around his entire member. "Don't fuckin' laugh at me!" he barely held back from clocking the soul reaper but only because of the previous reprimand.

Ichigo withdrew from sucking on the quincy and brought his hands up to play with his cock and balls instead, allowing Kon even greater liberties. "Don't try to make sense of it," he advised, not only for the sake of his friend's worry but so that he might not be analyzed as deeply as he might otherwise.

"Then how am I supposed to know what to do?" Uryu whined.

"Just do what you want," Ichigo shrugged as though it was the obvious answer even though it has been a hard lesson for him to learn. Actually, there was one exception to that. It seemed that most of the time he was with Shinji, he could do nothing other than what his instincts told him was the right next move. His other lovers, however, often made him feel as though he was grasping at straws. If there was one thing that he hoped for and tried to do it was make his partner, or partners, feel comfortable enough that if they felt they had to do something, or more importantly not do something, they wouldn't think twice about it.

"Isn't this about what you want?" the quincy tried.

"It's only really good if you like it too," the orange-haired teen replied breathily. The topic of their conversation was putting almost as much strain on him as Uryu's impending orgasm but kept it up because the talking seemed to reign in the other young man.

The problem was, as it had been with Ichigo to begin with, that, sure Uryu had carnal feelings and desires, even if he hadn't the slightest twinges of desire for these two before (which was very nearly the truth) he would have now, but he didn't know what to do with the way he felt or deal with the desires that now surged through him. As it were, he had admitted to himself that Kurosaki Ichigo was an attractive young man, thus making Kon also by proxy, but he'd never thought to fantasize about either of them, let alone both. In the back of his mind, he realized that now he wouldn't be able to stop himself from fantasizing about them even if he wanted to.

Ichigo, though he wished he could, didn't have to see to notice the strain that his supposed to be soothing words had brought on. In a way, it brought him back to when he had the surprise luncheon with Kensai, and subsequently Shinji. It made him take pity on his friend but the question he asked next as a distraction only seemed to make the quincy tenser. "You gunna let me…" he trailed off for a moment and then because he couldn't see the look on Uryu's face that would have been considered some sort of reply, he blindly continued, "fuck you?"

Uryu thought for a moment his heart was going to stop. "Is that what you want?" he asked carefully.

Ichigo almost laughed. Again, he could recall asking such questions himself, which left him to choose between emulating the responses he'd been given or attempt to formulate one of his own. He suddenly understood what Shinji meant that first time when he told Ichigo that was a tricky question. "I just wanna know if you're up for that. I don't wanna get any more outta line than I already am," he laughed a little. He would have blushed at his own forwardness if he hadn't been bright red already.

Before Uryu could reply, as it took a moment due to how dumbfounded Ichigo's answer left him, Kon interrupted.

"If you do, you better be careful!" the mod soul teasingly warned, "Things are still pretty damn tight back here." At this point, he couldn't hold back his lecherous giggle any more.

"I'm not an idiot!" Ichigo bitterly replied until he felt Uryu tensing again in his grasp. Instinctively, though it had taken some time for this instinct to develop, he knew that it wasn't a spasm of pleasure that it was feeling. Rather, it was a flash of anxiety. The orange-haired teen bit his lip and lifted the blindfold. He had to see if he was right.

"Hey!" Uryu futilely protested at the suddenly disobeying of his only stipulation.

"Just for a sec," Ichigo coaxed. "Kon, let up for a minute," he advised and was obeyed with surprising rapidity.

"What is it?" Uryu felt his heart pounding so hard now that he thought it would leap out of his chest.

"Have you ever…" Ichigo vaguely trailed off.

"Ever what?" the dark-haired teen asked, hoping he wasn't going to ask what he thought he was going to ask.

"Been with another guy…like that?" the soul reaper unwillingly elaborated.

"Why do you ask?" Uryu questioned back, surprised by his ability to form a complete sentence.

"Well…I just…" Ichigo's brow furrowed. More than anything, he just wanted to know.

"He afraid of hurtin' ya," Kon interjected.

"If that's why you're asking-" Uryu felt the beginnings of anger and some sort of betrayal welling up in him.

"No! Well, sorta…not really, though. I just wanna know. I understand if you don't wanna tell me," Ichigo reasoned with a gentleness uncharacteristic of his condition but that was accompanied by the intensity of emotion that practically defined it.

"I've fooled around before but…never got that far," the quincy admitted. "Does that affect what you want?" he couldn't help asking.

"Not really…but that's only because I want what you want, whatever that is…" Ichigo smiled foolishly in spite of himself. The idea that he was the first boy that the quincy ever penetrated made his stomach flip-flop almost as much as the notion that he might get the guilty privilege of popping his (ass-)cherry. "If you want me inside you, you know I won't argue," he was about to make his retracting statement when Kon interrupted.

"I'd love to hear you try," the mod soul scoffed.

"BUT only if you _really_ want to," he probably overly emphasized but he needed to get his point across. That need gave him another momentary flashback; this one was to Shinji's initial insistence that he didn't - couldn't - understand what he was going through, and that was even taking into account their similar situations. With Uryu being in a class so different from his own, he knew that even if he spent the rest of time trying to explain it, the only thing he would accomplish would be to exasperate them both, and that was probably the best case scenario.

Speaking of exasperation, that was exactly the look he was receiving from the quincy now. But this was the affectionate kind. Uryu was adjusting his glasses and shaking his head from side to side. "I'll never understand you; so, I think I should just give up, at least for now," he chuckled.

That only made Ichigo's smile widen. Perhaps exasperation wasn't so bad after all. "That's a great start," he giddily replied.

Uryu shook his head again and as he removed his glasses to set them aside, because he knew that regardless of what did come next, he most likely wouldn't need them, he thought about how odd it was to be talking about starts at this point.

"Don't-Please, leave them on," Ichigo protested, even bringing a hand up to stop the glasses from getting too far from his friend's face.

The dark-haired teen shot an odd look downward. "And what if you break them?"

The feverish vizard was very near the end of his capacity to carry on a coherent conversation and this fact was becoming increasingly apparent to everyone in the room. He simply withdrew, albeit reluctantly and with a frown.

"Fine. We'll just see how careful you can be," Uryu conceded, sliding his glasses back into place with a single practiced motion that caused an inexplicable shudder in the young man beneath him. Then, in an act of cruel irony, he pulled Ichigo's blindfold back down over his eyes.

Ichigo whined and kicked in futile frustration, futile because deep down he knew that it didn't matter now if he could see the glasses or not, he knew they were there and that was all he needed.

"Um…" Uryu turned back to the mod soul behind him, "If we were to-um…That is, would you mind if-" he was cut off by Kon's laughter just as much as his self consciousness thwarting his usual verbal eloquence.

"You want me to step out if you do it?" Kon surmised smartly. The fact that he could read them both so well right now and that he was already spent made the notion less offensive.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I mean…I guess if you wanted to stay-" he tried to retract but was interrupted. Kon had gotten him into this situation. It felt just as wrong to ask him to leave as it did to give up so much of himself for the first time in front of him.

"Okay," the mod soul readily agreed.

"R-Really?" he stammered, unsure where to go from there.

"Oh yeah, sure. But under one condition," he held one mischievous finger up in front of the other's face.

"Kon," Ichigo scolded, "Don't be a jackass."

"No, Ichigo, it's okay," Uryu argued firmly. "What is it?" he looked the mod soul square in the eye.

"Uuugh! Whatever it is, decide quick!" the vizard urged.

"Let me help get you ready," he requested seriously. It was as much for Uryu's comfort and safety as it was for his own enjoyment.

"Deal," the dark-haired teen smirked so he wouldn't give away his more honest grin.

"Okay!" Kon greedily rubbed his hands together. "Where'd that lube go?"

"What am I getting myself into," Uyru laughed a little.

"That's what _I_ should be asking," Ichigo interjected but wasn't rewarded with seeing the blush he elicited, which was something of a shame because then he would have understood something of what his lovers got in embarrassing him over such things, even if it was all in affectionate jest. "I won't ask you to try to tell me what you like. Just let me know if I do something good, 'kay?" he tried.

"Okay," Uryu nodded with somewhat forced confidence.

"Same goes here," Kon couldn't help getting his two cents in again.

"Whatever," the quincy continued to agree restlessly and before any of them could continue in that vein, the mod soul was pouring a generous amount of the water-based, warming lube on his crack.

When Ichigo felt a few stray drips fall onto him, he was going to scold Kon for going overboard and wasting what was left in that (second) bottle. However, Uryu's heated little gasp that followed quelled that. If the quincy, who was normally the one most likely to care about those kinds of things, didn't mind the waste, neither did he.

It seemed that Kon pretty well had things under control back there, which left the soul reaper still laying on his back wondering what he should do. There were still quite a few options but without being able to see Uryu's face, he found it difficult to choose. He tried erring on the side of caution by reaching down to stroke his friend's erection again.

"N-no, please…" Uryu reluctantly swatted the hand away. What Kon was doing aroused him more than he could have expected, even if he had high hopes for the mod soul, and even if it did start to hurt some, he suspected that with someone stroking his cock, especially someone who obviously knew what he was doing, he would lose himself before he wanted, namely before Ichigo was even inside him. To his surprise, the soul reaper seemed to understand.

"Okay, but…it makes things…less uncomfortable," Ichigo tried to reason but let his hand slide up to the quincy's hip so he wouldn't fondle his erection anymore.

"I…know that," Uryu tried not to snap.

"Fine," Ichigo teased with petulant playfulness. "Kiss me instead?" he proposed hopefully. Finally, his inability to visually gauge the other's expression was emboldening him rather than holding him back.

"Kuro-" Uryu barely caught himself as he uttered the first half of his classmate's last name. "Ichigo," he quickly corrected but before he could continue with his actual thought, action was already being taken.

Ichigo was reaching up and bringing his hands to the quincy's cheeks to guide their faces together. His mind raced at the thought of their lips and tongues pressing together again and his skin tinged as it started to come true.

The dark-haired teen's lips only parted when he gave a gasp of pleasure at Kon finding his prostate. The pulse of pleasure caused a much more intense reaction from the one beneath him. Something about that interaction had caused Ichigo to cum again. It was then that the true nature of Ichigo's condition started to dawn on him. The vizard was feeding off his pleasure just as much as he was in pursuit of his own. It as peculiar but when he felt Ichigo's raietsu pulsing around him, he realized just how complex this condition was.

The quincy tried not to grumble at this realization. He thought that would be something that should have been at least mentioned, if not during their discussion that afternoon then at some point during the encounter. But, there was so much going on and even if Ichigo had been the type to say something about it, it was obvious that his brain was fried and he was running on instinct, adrenaline, and hormones.

Even if he hadn't given the slightest sound of indignation at the initial realization, Ichigo would have sensed the feeling. "What is it?" he asked breathily between feverish pecks.

Uryu didn't say anything. He simply let his raietsu flair up and pushed it toward the one still assaulting his lips, finding that the flair up was easy but keeping it focused while Kon was now scissoring two fingers inside him was substantially more difficult than he expected.

It made Ichigo cum again and he groaned at the feeling of the fair teen's smirking lips yielding to his advances once more.

Between the pleasure of being so carefully prepared and the feeling of empowerment at the realization of how easily he could manipulate Ichigo's peaks, Uryu wasn't sure if he should awe or dance with triumph. He would eventually settle on awe when he learned that although he appeared to be nearly out of control, Ichigo could still assert a certain influence of his own that he was not immune to.

That influence was what made him glad that he decided to bat Ichigo's hand away from his cock because he could feel the vizard's raietsu pulsing maddeningly around him. It made him feel like he was going to cum, like he was unwillingly crashing toward release but somehow managed to hold back at the very last moment. It also made him give a sound of epic frustration. "Nnnngh! Aaaah…S-Stop…Kon, stop," he pleaded, his head spinning almost as though he had cum.

"Uryu, what is it?" Kon asked with marked concern as he withdrew. He was worried not only because of the quincy's tone but because Ichigo's demeanor didn't change. Normally, the vizard reacted reciprocally to his partner unless he was too far gone.

"I'm ready," he barely replied, feeling the body beneath him start at the words.

"You sure?" the mod soul asked critically.

"No, not really," he replied dryly and felt Ichigo tense. "But it's what I want," he added with more confidence than he expected.

Ichigo tensed again but this time it was in anticipation. He wanted to say something but words failed him and for fear of taking his friend even more off guard than he was he failed to take action. This left him shaking with sightless anticipation.

Kon pursed his lips. "If you say so…" he pulled away entirely. "Where do you want me to go?" he asked carefully because he didn't want to go too far, at least before he knew they'd be okay. Of course, he couldn't express this concern any more than that without upsetting the pair in question.

"Um, well…if you don't want to go to the bedroom in the back, there's not really anywhere here," he reluctantly replied, wishing he'd thought of that before he asked the other to leave them alone.

"Oh, god, I'm so tired. I'm gunna crash in your bed." The idea of rest put an unexpected spring in his step. "Holler if you need anything, okay?" he made sure to emphasize that point.

"Yeah, sure…" Uryu hastily replied.

Then, before either of them realized it, Kon was gone. He had practically disappeared from the scene. He would later blame it on the fact that he was exhausted to cover how much he hoped the other two would come out of this experience still friends if he allowed them their privacy.

For a long moment afterward, Uryu sat staring stupidly downward at his classmate, rival, and nakama. He very badly wanted to pull away the blindfold but he knew better.

"How do you want to-ah, that is-um, " Ichigo stammered, not wanting to rush his partner but at the same time, wanting to proceed to hot-sweet pleasure as quickly as possible.

"You've obviously done this more times than I have," Uryu haughtily snapped, knowing it was to disguise how vulnerable the question made him. "How do you think we should do it?"

"Um…well…Can I take this off?" the orange-haired teen motioned to his blindfold but didn't dare to touch it.

"Not yet," the fair quincy hastily replied and was surprised at how easily the more rambunctious teen submitted to his whim.

"'Kay…then how 'bout this?" he put his hands back on the lithe hips hovering over his own and sat up until he could feel his partner's ragged breath on his sweat-slickened skin. Neither feeling nor hearing any protest to that, he continued by guiding him downward until he felt something brushing against the swollen tip of his member. "You gotta kinda take it from here, since I can't see where I'm going," he coaxingly advised.

Uryu bit his lip as he reached down behind him to guide the other the rest of the way. When he felt the thick length against his asshole, he hesitated but only until Ichigo looked like he was about to offer words of encouragement, which would inevitably result in further anxiety and embarrassment. Then, he started to sit down on the length, trying to relax as much as possible during his descent, which was agonizingly slow for both of them.

During this tense moment, Ichigo, in his effort to keep from using the grip on his friend's hips to expedite the process, found he couldn't keep his mouth off the soft and oddly tangy skin before him. At first, he tried to kiss the quincy again but failed. He thought at first that it was because of his sightless aim but quickly realized the kiss was being avoided and opted instead to kiss every other part he could reach, which meant the sides of his face, neck, and chest.

It was when he reached the quincy's chest that he found something at least as entertaining as his mouth, his nipples. They were already perky little pebbles by the time he reached them and didn't hesitate in the least to toy with them using his lips and tongue. It worried him a little when he first got the urge to use his teeth but that quickly dissipated when he pulled the one to his right tightly between his lips until it popped back into place.

Uryu was only halfway down when Ichigo did that the first time and it caused him gasp and spasm around the length partially inside him. It was intense but not as intense as the orgasm that rocked through Ichigo's body in response.

"Fuck," the soul reaper swore, reflexively digging his nails into the quincy's thin hips.

The outburst took Uryu aback but it also made him smile. It gave him an unusual sense of pride to be able to elicit such a reaction, even if it was under extreme circumstances, and he finished fully taking the length a few short moments later. He was about to move upward again but was easily stopped by the hands holding him so tightly that it almost hurt.

Ichigo couldn't help it. There was barely enough of his sense left to keep from mindlessly fucking his partner. His breath came in ragged gasps and erractic tremors rolled through his body.

For a brief second, Uryu felt trapped, but quickly remembered that he was the more sensible of the two and put that out of his mind. Unable to move, he tried something else. The worst of the stretching was over and there was only one thing standing between them now, the one boundary he set.

Without a second thought, he pulled the blindfold away from the vizard's eyes and tossed it out of reach. "Ichigo," he gasped when he saw the wild look in the other's eyes.

Just the sound of his name while so tightly sheathed made him cum again. "Uryu…." he moaned helplessly as his hips rolled, stirring himself inside the other.

Uryu bucked the first time that stirring motion caused contact with his prostate. "Oh, shit!"

They quickly found their rhythm after that, first by continuing to rock and grind their hips together, which led to short thrusts that very soon turned into longer and longer thrusts until only his head remained inside his partner before delving back inside.

It hurt for a while, longer than he expected, but took it in stride because he knew it was the only thing keeping him from cumming.

"You're so sexy," Ichigo breathily whispered into the side of his partner's neck.

"Don't say things like that," Uryu dismissed.

''Don't be like that. I mean it and now's the only time I'm gunna have the guts to say it," he guiltily replied.

"Tch, just like I'm cute when I'm worried, I suppose," he dismissed again.

"Oh, no. This is _much_ different," he nearly growled as he stopped fighting the urge to push the dark-haired teen onto his back and pull his legs up to his sides, giving him even more leverage and depth than their starting position. Before he was just testing the waters, now he was practically drowning in them.

"Aaah! Ichigo!" Uryu gasped at the sudden, almost violent, movement. If his head hadn't been purposefully cradled, he would have thought it to be actually violent. As it was, the oddly thoughtful gesture in the mist of such a fray left him beguiled and confused.

It wasn't until quite some time afterwards that either of them spoke anything intelligible and it was Ichigo who spoke first, "Can you cum for me?" he asked between gasps and moans.

The quincy nearly laughed aloud. That was just what he'd been trying not to do. Instead, he nodded fitfully.

"Don't hold it back," he instructed and reach down to start stroking the turgid member that occasionally brushed his abdomen.

Uryu's head tossed from side to side as he felt that he was, at any moment, about to find release, but it did not come as quickly as expected. In fact, every time he felt the rush about to overtake him, he also felt Ichigo drawing raietsu from him. By the time this realization came, he was so sensually incapacitated that all he could do was moan and whine. He would have kicked but his legs were firmly secured on either side his body by strong arms.

Ichigo quickly found his head swimming with the rush of the quincy's energy. It made an unusual cocktail with his own that made his guts tingle with every pulse. But, as amazingly pleasurable as all that was, he couldn't keep it up for very long. It didn't take long for Uryu to start to look a little dizzy from the rapid energy loss and he had to start pushing back once again. This time with full force.

"Holy shit," Uryu gasped as he felt the mixture of raietsu rush into him in regular pulses that gradually increased in intensity.

"Is it too much?" Ichigo asked, though his actions weren't going to waiver until he was told they should.

"No…I just didn't expect…" he trailed off as he awed at how now instead of the semi-erratic orgasms, Ichigo's peaks came with those of his spiritual pressure.

Ichigo nodded with understanding and kept going. Soon, Uryu reached his maximum and finally spilled himself between them with a powerful shudder.

Not long after, his back was arching and his head flying back as a passionate, guttural moan poured from him. Then, when the wave ebbed, his head rolled forward and he slowly succumbed to overly satisfied unconsciousness.


	61. Waking

Ichigo was nearly settled when Uryu decided to try to slip out from beneath him. He was allowed only so far, until they were side by side, before a strong arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him close again.

"Nnnn…don't go…" Ichigo sleepily grumbled.

"I'm just gunna get cleaned up a bit," Uryu tried to reason.

The vizard made another sleepy sound but this one held a hint of mild frustration, "Ngh! Sleepy time," he informed, holding the other even more tightly against his body and not bothering to even open his eyes.

"But I'm all sticky," the fair teen argued and tried to pull away again only to find he wasn't going anywhere without a fight.

"Then take me with you," Ichigo pathetically proposed, though he knew his muscles would refuse to let him get that far.

"My bathroom's barely big enough for one," the quincy reasoned.

The lethargic orange-haired teen gave a whine and reluctantly loosened his grip. He wasn't about to let go if he didn't have to but enough of his good sense was returning to make him realize, if only in the back of his mind, that he was being stubborn and a little rude. "Fine," he petulantly replied. "Be back soon?" he proposed though he finally fell sleep before he could get a reply.

Uryu shifted uncomfortably in the loosening grasp of his comrade. He was still a mess and felt gross because of it but now he felt guilty for trying to get away so soon. That guilt quickly faded when Ichigo started to snore lightly and he escaped for a few minutes to clean himself up. On his return, he considered putting some pants or at least some underwear on, but decided against it. Instead, he grabbed a blanket from the closet and rejoined the sleeping other on the floor.

He couldn't remember a time when he was held more tightly or more securely. As he drifted to sleep, he found that he wasn't terribly surprised that Ichigo would show this sort of protective affection at this point and wondered if the ordeal was over. Well, even if the 'episode', as Ichigo had called it, was over, the ordeal itself certainly wasn't. There was still the awkward time when they woke up and got dressed to look forward to.

* * *

Surprisingly, Ichigo was the first to wake, or at least he thought he was, but that was only because he was in the last throes of his episode. His eyelids just cracked when he realized the feeling of someone's backside hugging his cock wasn't his imagination. Then, when he saw black hair in front of him, he forced himself to stop, biting his lip and breathing evenly to steady himself. When he could, he pulled up for a moment to see if he had woken Uryu.

He had, but the quincy was still a little panicked and pretending to be sleeping undisturbed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo slipped away, making sure the other was sufficiently covered, and went exploring.

He found the bathroom first and if he had remembered their conversation from earlier, he would have agreed that it was definitely too small for two people. A few steps later, he found the bedroom where Kon was sleeping soundly on the quincy's bed. He tried nudging him a couple times, but received no worthwhile response. He gave another sigh. He could probably wake Kon and get him to finish what he started but that wasn't what he wanted. Actually, most of his sense had returned and only a slightly nagging arousal remained.

It gave him enough confidence to want to take care of himself, since he'd been dependent on others for far more than he was comfortable with. So, he ducked into the bathroom and closed the door, not bothering to lock it.

Only when he heard the bathroom door close did Uryu have the courage to open his eyes. When he first felt the vizard's lethargic affections, he let himself give in and even give back a little but when he realized that the other young man was only doing it in his sleep, he felt weird about what he was doing and stopped. It was shortly after he stopped that Ichigo awoke, stopped his motions (which apparently took a some doing), and slipped away.

This left him wondering what to do. There was no way he could go back to sleep now, especially since what Ichigo had been doing to him had served to arouse him rather well. Should he take care of himself? But what if Ichigo was only going to the toilet? Then he would return to find him in a most embarrassing situation. He decided to sneak up to the bathroom and listen at the door for a moment, figuring if the vizard exited, he could simply say he was going to his room for something, probably clothes.

Luckily, no one exited and he was allowed to press his ear against the door and listen, a maddening blush rising to his face at what he heard. All he could think was, "Is Ichigo really masturbating in my bathroom?" Nothing even remotely similar had ever crossed his mind so it took the better part of a minute to get over it.

Another close listen later, and he could hear the other young man moaning softly from within and that sound made him want to be able to see him. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he realized there was a sort of irony in that, since he'd insisted the other stay blindfolded earlier. He almost couldn't believe that not only did he want to go in there and help his comrade but how badly he wanted to do it. The urge was so intense that it made his stomach flip-flop with indecision.

Unfortunately, he wasn't exactly permitted to decide for himself because a moment later, Kon was quietly clearing his throat behind him.

"He's gunna be a little bit. If you gotta pee or somethin' you should just knock and kick'em out," the mod soul advised, somewhat disappointed. The nudging he received earlier had started to wake him but the vizard left before he could realize who was nudging him and why. The sound of the door closing was what made him get out of the quincy's comfortable bed to check on them.

Having been too absorbed by the other thoughts racing though his mind, Uryu started at the voice and silently scolded himself for forgetting about the mod soul. "Just checking…" he listlessly replied and tried to walk away but the way that Kon continued to stand in the hall and study the door made him stay. "What are you doing?" he asked as politely as he could manage with them both being naked, which made him feel awkward but didn't seem to effect the mod soul, which made him feel just that much more awkward about it.

"Trying to decide if I should try to help'em out," he whispered back, not wanting to disturb the vizard in the bathroom either way.

"Based on?" the quincy methodically inquired.

Kon frowned. "Don't tell me you didn't notice," he tried not to scoff too accusingly.

"You mean his raietsu?" he asked carefully.

Kon breathed a sigh of relief at not having misjudged he quincy's abilities. "You worried me for a second there."

Uryu took a moment to feel out his friend, not that finding the energy was difficult, but he needed to track it for a bit before continuing. "It almost feels normal now," he quietly observed.

"That's why I'm still standing out here," the mod soul informed in a small voice.

Now that confused the quincy. It seemed more than a little strange to him that the vizard might not want Kon now, after all that happened. He thought about asking if he should give it a shot, looking for some sort of justification for the urge to intrude.

"What about you?" Kon asked with baited breath.

"What about me?" Uryu shot back.

The mod soul gave a look that said, 'now is not the time to get defensive'. "He might put up less fuss if you do it," he proposed and received a very critical look in response.

"If he doesn't want you, he certainly won't want me," the quincy dismissed.

Kon shook his head in exasperation. "Whatever. Geez, it's not like you gotta let'em fuck you again. At this point, he'd probably be perfectly happy to just make-out while jerking off."

Uryu gave a disgusted frown at the mod soul's choice of words.

That look made Kon second guess himself. "Look, I don't think I ever thanked you for letting us crash your place. You really helped us out."

"Don't worry about it…just don't make a habit of it," the quincy haughtily whispered.

"You really didn't want to let us come here, did you?" Kon asked quietly.

"What? I didn't say that!" he almost yelled.

"Well, it's just that you're so cold, even now…makes you sound like you didn't really want to get into all this. I'm sorry if I put you out."

Uryu was feeling cold, but that was only because he was still naked. Otherwise, he felt this nagging warmth in his chest even just thinking about what happened. "No, no! Don't say that. I…well-um. I didn't really know what to expect but I…" he trailed off, unable to put his feelings into words.

The stammering caused Kon's grin to return. "I get it. Okay. I just didn't want you to think I was a jerk or something, ya know?" he almost laughed. "So, honestly, just between you and me, do you wanna give'em this last little bit of help?"

"Just between you and me?" the quincy attempted to verify.

"Yeah," Kon nodded confidently.

"I think so…" he barely confirmed.

"You don't sound so sure," Kon chided.

"Well…I do but…I mean, I don't know…" Uryu was becoming increasingly frustrated with his inability to put words together into full sentences.

"You wanna do it together?" Kon proposed, a naughty gleam dancing in his eyes.

"You think he'd go for that again?" the dark-haired teen questioned somewhat incredulously. He had gotten the impression that was something the vizard would only entertain during the heat of his episodes.

Kon knew the answer to that was, 'not without some convincing', but he replied, "If we don't give'em the chance to argue, he should be just fine," thinking that if they overwhelmed him together that he wouldn't want to put up a fight even if his modesty protested.

Uryu's frown deepened. He obviously didn't like that approach. Overwhelming an enemy, sure, but not a lover.

"Well, if you don't like that," Kon approached his host, his pace slow but determined, "I've got plenty of other ideas." His lips curled into a smile as he looked the dark-haired teen up and down, observing that he was presently partially erect.

It wouldn't be until later, when he had the opportunity to reflect on his experiences, that he would realize that he needed to be a little more careful about how he responded to the excessive exposure to Ichigo's raietsu. Especially since he was in the vizard's human body, an object that readily accepted the energy as its own. Also, it had a tendency to make him more aggressive, like about as aggressive as he fantasized about being.

"Whadaya say?" Kon whispered when he stopped only moments from their bare bodies touching.

For a long moment, all Uryu could manage to do was blink stupidly at the sudden, unexpected advance and when he did finally part his lips to speak, he was interrupted.

Kon hadn't meant to interrupted him. It was just that those parted lips were almost too tempting to resist. "Let's go to your bed, do it right, make up for last night," he proposed breathily, his heart fluttering in his throat and making it difficult to speak. "I like bein' on the bottom a lot more than he does anyway."

"There's nothing to make up for," the quincy stumbled backward a step but quickly found himself running into the wall. He meant what he said but he still sounded unsure due to his situation.

"Do you ever say the wrong thing?" Kon didn't wait for an answer before trying to kiss the fairer young man.

"K-Kon!" Uryu finally raised his hands to push the mod soul away by the shoulders. Unfortunately, he also raised his voice.

* * *

In his condition, waking up slowly next to a warm, welcoming body was the best thing in the world. That's why when Uryu stopped being so welcoming, Ichigo really awoke from his pleasure-induced slumber.

"Damn it," he thought to himself. "As if getting him to fuck me wasn't bad enough, now I'm all…wait…is he still asleep?" He carefully leaned over his friend and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from his face. "Thank god. He might not remember this part at least," he continued his inner monologue as he slipped out from under the blanket and tip-toed down the hallway toward the bedroom, only pausing for a moment to examine the bathroom on the way.

He couldn't help shaking his head in exasperation at the way Kon was sprawled out on the quincy's bed. He wasn't sure if he should be endeared or annoyed and for simplicy's sake let them cancel each other out. With almost baited breath, he nudged his body, and subsequently the mod soul inside. No response. He did it again and received only a sleepy, halfhearted whine in response. Subsequent attempts produced the same sort of result.

To keep himself from shaking Kon awake, Ichigo walked away trying to find some pride in how unconscious his partners were. He also tried to find consolation in that he was nearly finished. His energy had just about leveled out but his arousal was still a very prominent feature in his thoughts and physique.

"Acutally," his thoughts continued, "this isn't so bad. I bet I could take care of the rest of this by myself." He ducked into the bathroom and carefully shut the door. Then he wasted no time in starting to stroke himself, uncontrollable flashes of the nude, save an unnecessary accessory, quincy coming to mind.

The whole affair, as far as he was concerned, hadn't gone as well as it could have, but only because he wished that they hadn't had to drag yet another person into his screwed up sex life. Other than that, he couldn't find fault with any of it and he prayed that Uryu might feel that way, even just a little tiny bit.

He nearly bit through his lip to bite back the moan that tore through him when he came the first time by his own hand as his hollow suddenly recalled that he was the quincy's first. That was something he still felt guilt about but would only express if he felt that's what Uryu wanted to hear from him, otherwise it might sound insulting.

Oh, but the uptight, orderly, proud quincy had accepted him in ways that he didn't think possible. In retrospect, he was surprised that Uryu even participated, figuring that he would have preferred to simply offer them a hideaway and stay out of the fray. He felt so indebted to his friend that he wasn't sure if he was even going to be able to look him square in the eye when they did finally speak again.

A few minutes later, Ichigo was pleased to find that though his orgasms were still coming, each one took more effort than the last. He was less pleased, however when he heard Kon's name nearly shouted in Uryu's voice muffled by the bathroom door. "Shit," he grit his teeth and cursed under his breath. "What now?" he grumbled as he hurriedly cleaned himself up.

Then, he listened at the door for a moment only managing to strain enough to hear a bit of uneven shuffling before opening the door just a crack. Not surprisingly, he was appalled at what he saw but didn't act before the situation changed dramatically.

Uryu had been looking for a reason to agree to what Kon was saying. Sure, he was confused but he was also aroused and curious, a potentially hazardous combination. However, he was still too unsure of himself to just give in with abandon. He needed a reason to do it, in case he might regret it later so he could justify his actions even if he wasn't terribly happy with them.

Ichigo unwittingly gave him the opportunity to do as he pleased by revealing his awareness of the situation. Uryu was all too aware of how the situation appeared when the first sliver of light came through the bathroom doorway. Kon was obviously trying to physically coerce the quincy into being his partner before he wasn't allowed to have any more fun for a while. What surprised Uryu was that he was more taken aback by how forcefully Kon was going about it, not that he was making the attempt in the first place. The last thing Uryu wanted at this point was to be rescued by Ichigo, even if he was more than mildly uncomfortable with his situation at hand.

Because of how they were situated, the vizard and the quincy couldn't see each other's faces, Kon was blocking their view, but it wasn't necessary. Uryu heard his classmate give a gasp of surprise at the sight he saw through the barely cracked door and heard the worry in it as well. It made him take action of his own by placing his hands on Kon's shoulders and pulling him in for an unexpected kiss.

The mod soul gave a muffled sound of surprise but otherwise willingly complied with the suddenly forward and welcoming gesture. He wasn't about to let that kind of opportunity go to waste.

Ichigo's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he watched his quincy comrade take his body, occupied by someone else, and pull it close. He couldn't see for sure from his limited position but he was fairly sure they were kissing. He was finally sure when he heard Kon give a little moan that sounded all too familiar. He recognized it from the times they'd kissed, though it sounded a little different from farther away than up close.

He was not, of course, surprised in the least that Kon would make such advances, only that he was awake after sleeping so soundly shortly before. He was, however, surprised at how aggressively Uryu returned the gestures, with force and determination and like he might very well want something from the mod soul now nearly in his arms.

Uryu's little impromptu plan worked, at least as far as it was planned. Ichigo didn't seem inclined to come to his aid now but now he was stuck with the forward entity in his friend's body.

"Mmmm," Kon flicked his tongue out to lick the quincy's thin lips, "I knew you'd-" he began but was cut off.

"No talking," Uryu insisted adamantly.

"Awww…why not?" If there was one thing Kon liked, it was talking dirty. It was such a simple pleasure but one he rarely got to enjoy.

"Because…your face tells me everything I need to know but your words just insult me," he countered evenly.

For some reason, that made Kon smile a wide, rather stupid smile. He was about to say, "Yeah, okay," but opted instead to simply give an eager nod of agreement. This was something much different than he was used to. Of course, he was more used to Kisuke and Shinji, who enjoyed teasing the meaning out of a person's heated words and knew how to prompt their lovers to elicit appropriate responses.

Ichigo's jaw dropped when he heard what Uryu said and it was the surprising blend of the quincy's natural way with words with his equally natural anxiety over the tense situation that made him speechless long enough not to reveal himself accidentally during his stupor. It sounded like Uryu but he still had a difficult time believing that the uptight quincy would be so indulgent.

Then, if only to get them out of the sight of the peeping vizard, Uryu pushed off the wall he only just realized he was practically leaning on. Whether he liked it or not, Kon took it from there and finished wrapping his arms around the quincy's thin waist as he slowly walked backward down the hall toward the open bedroom door.

Ichigo ducked out of their sight when they passed by, though he was fairly sure they were so caught up in what they were doing that they wouldn't have noticed him anyway.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Uryu broke away and shut the door behind them, breathing a sigh of still rather anxious relief.

At this, Kon gave an amused look but when the fair teen didn't return to his arms the look quickly acquired a slight frown. "Now what?"

"Well, Ichigo saw us out there and I didn't want him to interfere. The last thing I need is for him to think he has to rescue me from you," he tried not to sound too indignant.

"So you want me alone just as much as I want you?" Kon surmised with a naughty grin.

Uryu rolled his eyes with exasperation.

"Hey, what happened to your glasses?" the mod soul finally noticed the accessory was missing.

"After Ichigo fell asleep, I got cleaned up and took them off. I left them in the bathroom," he recalled.

Kon gave a nod of understanding and restarted his approach. "Well, I don't care either way. In fact, I might actually like this way better. Now I can get a good look at your eyes," he smiled warmly.

Uryu was obviously displeased by that but only because he wasn't used to the flattery.

Ignoring the displeased part of that look, Kon finished his approach and started to kiss and nibble on the quincy's tender throat, reveling in the suppressed shudder he received in response.

"K-Kon, why're you…" he tensed and couldn't finish his sentence when the lips on his neck found a spot that made his knees weak. Then he nearly whined when the mod soul pulled away to answer.

"Don't you want to?" Kon backed off even more. "I thought you-" was as far as he got before he was cut off.

"I-I do…I think. Oh, I don't know. I'm so confused about all this!" he finally let himself vent to a pair of listening ears.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Kon eased. "I mean, don't worry. Just do whatever you want, okay?"

"Even if I don't want to…" Uryu trailed off.

"Well, yeah, duh!" Kon nearly laughed.

The dark-haired teen eased up. "But weren't you expecting…?"

"Don't spend so much time worrying about what other people expect. Besides, I've learned not to expect much. Just don't lead me on and I'm sure I'll survive," he coyly dismissed.

Uryu gave a critical look as he examined the face of the one before him. Then, he pursed his lips as he thought about what he should do next.

What did happen next, surprised Kon so much that he didn't respond as quickly as he would have normally. Uryu was pulling him close again.

"So, you sure Ichigo won't mind?" the quincy just wanted to make sure. "I mean, that is his body."

"Tch, like he has a reason to care," Kon dismissed.

That was all the reassurance Uryu needed before he started leading them toward the bed, hardly noticing how messy it was. After that, Kon couldn't resist going for that little spot on that fair neck.

When the mod soul's lips found the quincy's sweet spot again, Uryu was glad that he was sitting because by that point he had let go of enough of his inhibitions that his knees really would have buckled. He even gave a heated little whine as they laid down together.

Moments later, their lips met again and they were lost in one another. As much as he would never admit this, even to himself, deep down Uryu would consider this his real first time, if only because it was with someone who wasn't crazed for sex.

Kon almost couldn't believe his senses. Before he even realized what was happening, their naked bodies were tangling and rubbing together in the most erotic ways. They were so caught up in what they were doing that they quickly forgot about the other in the apartment and were moaning and groaning against one another.

Uyru gave a loud gasp when Kon finally took hold of his erection, which was now at full strength and poking rudely at whatever it came into contact with.

"I…I know I said whatever but…I want you inside me…if you want to, that is," he practically groaned at the thought even though he was slightly stammering.

Earlier, when it was suggested, Uryu thought it was only bait to get them alone together. He didn't think it was an earnest gesture which was why now, when it was spoken so earnestly, he couldn't help being taken aback by the notion. "You sure? I mean, I don't think there's any lube left." He didn't want to sound too excited by the idea even though a certain part of his body had reacted almost instantly.

Kon gave a wide grin and rolled Uryu onto his back. Then, he slowly started kissing down his body, starting with his neck (had to hit that sweet spot one more time), then down his chest, stopping for a moment to tease one of his nipples with his tongue, and down his stomach. He took another quick detour to dip his tongue into the quincy's little navel before going the rest of the way until his mouth was even with the head of the cock jutting out toward him.

Uryu was about to speak. The words were literally on the tip of his tongue but when Kon started to go down on him, those words turned into carnal moans as he threw his head back in pleasure. The mod soul felt his cock twitch in response to the sudden abandon that had been unleashed within his new partner and it urged him to continue without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Ichigo couldn't help letting his curiosity get the better of him and snuck down the hall toward the single bedroom. Carefully, he pressed his ear against the door and gasped at what he heard.


	62. Closure

So to everyone who cares: I'm really sorry it took so long to get this final chapter up. There are a number of reasons it took as long as it did. The combination of epic amounts of school work (being a writing major will do that I hear) was the majority of the hold up but also, I received a particularly nasty negative review that got under my skin (I know I shouldn't let it get to me so much) and made it difficult to write this without it sounding weird or spiteful. I hope no one (or at least very few of you) is disappointed with this conclusion. Anyway, thanks to _EVERYONE_ who had read my story and special thanks to those who took the time to give me reviews/input of any sort!!!

* * *

Shinji, in spite of knowing better, couldn't help trying to keep an eye on his significant other. He could feel the teen's cycle starting to peak during his morning walk to school. He wanted very badly to walk with him but because he knew he couldn't keep his hands off the feverish teen, he kept a safe distance. Part of him hoped that he would be noticed but Ichigo was swimming in his own energy and hormones too much to notice anything other than himself.

That afternoon, he was please to see Ichigo go to Kon for relief. It was an arrangement that made all the sense in the world to him, even more sense than his relationship with Ichigo.

What happened when they emerged from the house, however, pleased him less. When he saw Kon rush out by himself, Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin, but breathed a sigh of relief when Ichigo exited shortly and hastily afterward. What followed, again however, made Shinji very anxious.

It took him only a moment to realize that it was a game but a potentially dangerous game. He almost went after them but stopped himself. He knew that he had to have faith in Ichigo, that it would only be detrimental to both of them if he interfered. It took all his self-control, but he held back. It gave him the time to reflect on his boyfriend and that reflection made him glad he held himself back because if there was one thing he always admired about Ichigo, it was his incredible self-control.

In fact, it was something that made him feel significant envy. Even during their first time together, he knew that Ichigo had a better handle on himself than he did and he trusted his lover's decision-making capacity. That is, he trusted it right up until Kon allowed Ichigo to happen upon the quincy boy.

The quincy looked down their noses at everyone especially soul reapers so that went double for vizards. He was half way to snatching up his lover and carrying him off to who-knows-where when he was intercepted.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Kisuke asked when he suddenly appeared in the path of his old friend.

"Kisuke," Shinji hissed.

"No, my shop's in a completely different direction. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were going to interrupt an affair that does not need interrupting," the shopkeeper chided.

"Doesn't need interrupting?" Shinji exclaimed incredulously.

"That's what I said," Kisuke calmly replied.

"He's a quincy! He'll never understand!" the vizard raved almost madly.

"Now, now, in the beginning, you said that about everyone who wasn't a vizard," Kisuke reminded evenly. "Give them a chance. They are friends, you know."

"Barely," Shinji scoffed.

"Then this will give them the opportunity to get closer. Who knows? Maybe the rift between them was nothing more than sexual tension, you know how boys that age can be, all the stamina in the world but with no real direction," he feigned disinterest.

Seeing that arguing wasn't getting him anywhere, the blonde vizard took a moment to feel out his lover again.

Kisuke did the same. "It appears they're headed back to Kurosaki's place. Trust me on this one. Let them go. He may be an Ishida but he's nothing like his father," he assured. "Besides, Uryu doesn't have very many friends. Forcing them apart now could very well do more harm than good."

Shinji pursed his lips. He knew he shouldn't follow them and that he shouldn't have even started following them in the first place. "Okay," he replied with a sigh, "but if this ends badly, I'm laying the blame solely on you, got it?"

"Of course," Kisuke replied with an annoyed nod. "Now, come with me. I'll keep you company."

Shinji understood that as, 'I'll keep you out of trouble,' but didn't argue. Instead, he started toward the candy shop feeling especially petulant.

They arrived at the Urahara Shop a couple minutes later and Kisuke furnished them with a small meal and tea.

"Don't look so troubled. You should have some faith in Ichigo," Kisuke advised when they were about half finished with their plates.

"Easy for you to say," the vizard grumbled. "Besides, I do. I just don't have faith in that quincy."

Kisuke shrugged. "He's not a bad kid."

The pair of former captains talked like that for the better part of the day.

"So…." Kisuke finally broached after they finished their dinner. "I can think of a number of ways to keep your mind occupied until you can see your rambunctious young lover again," he proposed with a sly grin.

Shinji frowned and looked away. "Not today…" he muttered.

"Oh? Are you sure? You know I make an excellent distraction if you let me," he tried again.

The younger-looking blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Fine, wallow in your own pity," the shopkeeper sat back and loaded his pipe, as he often did in the evenings. "I'm not the one suffering from withdrawals so it really makes little difference to me."

"You're an ass," Shinji antagonized but received only an unsatisfying shrug in response.

It wasn't until late that night that Ichigo's riaetsu had waned enough for Kisuke to feel comfortable letting his old friend go without a fight. Of course, Shinji started off in the direction of the warehouse, where his comrades were no doubt awaiting his return, but turned about half way toward his lover's energy.

He had felt it move part way through his 'visit' with Kisuke but tried not to think about it. Though, he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was to find that the energy wasn't coming from Ichigo's home but rather Uryu's single apartment.

Carefully, quietly, he snuck up to the living room window and was unnerved to see only a crumpled up blanket. So, with minimal effort, he snuck inside. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to find who he was looking for.

Ichigo was too preoccupied with listening to the quincy's bedroom door to hear his boyfriend approach and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his name in that sweet voice he loved so much.

"Ichi-kun?" Shinji asked in a hushed voice when he saw the younger vizard sitting at the end of the all with his ear to the door.

"Ah, Shinji?" he gasped as he whipped his head around to see if he'd heard right.

"What's goin' on?" the blonde couldn't help asking.

"Uh, well, I-," he stammered and slowly started away from the door.

"Is everything okay?" Shinji couldn't help asking because of the anxiety in his lover's voice.

"Yeah, fine. Here," he led the other away from the door and back into the living room. "What're you doin' here?" he had to ask.

"I came to see you," the blonde vizard answered simply.

"You're checking on me," Ichigo grumblingly surmised, flopping down on the couch.

"Well, sorta," he admitted with a shrug, sitting down on the couch next to Ichigo. "But only 'cause of the quincy," he was quick to defend.

"You were worried about him?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"Not about him," Shinji dismissed, almost laughing, "About you. Quincy are so stuck-up. I wanted to make sure he was good to you." When he saw that displeased his orange-haired lover, he added, "And I _really_ wanted to see you."

"Take my word for it. He was just fine," Ichigo dismissed.

Shinji cocked an incredulous eyebrow, "Then why were you lurking outside his closed bedroom?"

"I'm okay now," Ichigo assured, even though he still felt the last twinges of his episode. "And, um…well, he and Kon sorta went in there and closed the door."

That made Shinji frown. He could tell his lover wasn't quite finished yet, even if he was well enough to function as though he were. "It's not supposed to be about them," he snapped and tried to rise to his feet only to have Ichigo grab him by the back of his collar and pull him back to the couch.

"It's okay," he authoritatively assured. "If they wanna…ya know, then let'em," he shrugged. "Besides, I was kinda…preoccupied at the time. I'm sure if I wanted to join them, they wouldn't argue." Actually, he wasn't entirely sure about that but it didn't really matter.

"Preoccupied?" Shinji repeated as though he didn't understand the word.

"Well, it was almost over and I was tired of letting other people take care of me so I went in the bathroom and took care of it myself," he resolutely reasoned.

That almost made Shinji laugh. "Oh, okay, I get it," he finally relented. "So…since they're the ones preoccupied now, you wanna let me take care of ya for a little bit?" he proposed in a naughty little voice.

"I don't think I should leave until Kon comes back. We came here together and I don't want him to freak out if I disappear," Ichigo reluctantly refused.

"Who said anything about goin' anywhere?" Shinji gave a sly grin and before his lover could say anything more, he kissed him.

A kiss from his lover made fireworks in Ichigo's brain, making it almost as impossible to think as the episodes themselves, and he found himself kissing back before he realized what he was doing.

When the younger vizard, who still happened to be nude but didn't seem to care, melted into his affections, the older slowly started to slide down his body until the was kneeling on the floor between his legs. Before he could receive any sort of protest he said, "I've wanted to do this all god damn day," before licking his lips and going down on his lover, taking his either length in one shot.

Ichigo couldn't control his reaction. There was still just enough of him that was susceptible to pleasure and his head flew back with a loud, deep-throated moan. After that, he couldn't think about where they were or the fact that the quincy and the mod soul in his body were now frantically making love only a few meters away. All he could think about was the wet heat of his boyfriends mouth expertly sucking him off, drawing out every last little drop of cum that he had left.

Kon and Uryu had just finished what they were doing and were laying panting on his bed, the mod souls legs still wrapped around the quincy's lithe hips with his softening member still inside, when they heard Ichigo moan Shinji's name. It wasn't the first time he'd vocalized his lover's name but it was the first time they were quiet enough to hear it.

"Ichigo…" Uryu muttered, worry in his voice. "Do you think he's okay?" After all, moaning someone's name so loudly while by oneself wasn't usually an indicator of someone in their right mind. However, after a second to feel the extra energy signature in his apartment, he felt some ease. "When did he-?"

Kon laughed a little. "He's so bad at following even his own rules." He unwrapped his legs and let the limp member side easily from his bottom. "Probably just showed up while we were getin' busy," he gave a crude little chuckle.

"Should we just let'em go?" Uryu had to ask because he hardly knew anything about the episodes and the mention of a broken rule startled him.

"Yeah, they should be okay. Ichigo's just about spent anyway, best to let his boyfriend finish'im off," he dismissed, grabbing some tissues off the night stand to clean them up.

"So they really are together," the quincy half-marveled.

"I know, weird, right?" Kon laughed a little. "It's 'cause of the episodes. They take pretty good care of each other but they can't see each other all the time or things get messy," he tried to explain.

"Did you see my living room?" Uryu laughed incredulously. "I'd say things got pretty messy."

The mod soul laughed too. "Yeah, but that's different." He sighed as he collected his thoughts. "I know you're not the type to go around talking about this kind of stuff so I'll let you in on it a little better than Ichigo did. Not that that was his fault. His brain was nearly fried by that point anyway and it was the first time he's had to explain it to somebody so he really didn't do too bad of a job," he digressed for a moment before getting back to what he was going to say. "Ichigo doesn't get the full brunt of the episodes like the other vizards do, on account of him being mostly human. The others though…they get a kind of raietsu addiction to somebody if they're with them too many times in a row; it makes'em kinda crazy, I guess. That's why he and Shinji had to cool it."

"But it's okay to let them go now?" Uryu reluctantly verified.

"I think so, yeah," he nodded confidently. "Like I said, Ichigo's episode's pretty much done. We took good care of'im," he gave a naughty little wink that made the dark-haired teen blush.

Even though that made Uryu feel a little better, he still felt uncomfortable.

"What's the matter?" Kon asked with genuine concern.

"I dunno. This whole thing is so strange. I'm not sure what to think," he admitted.

That made Kon laugh. "I know what you mean. Did you have a good time?"

The quincy blushed even more deeply. "Y-Yeah…I guess I did," he replied, seeming almost astonished by his own admission.

"Then it all worked out," Kon gave a confident nod.

"If you say so," Uryu shook his head in exasperation and finally felt exhaustion starting to overwhelm him again. "I'm fuckin' beat," he laid his head down on his soft pillow.

"Thanks for everything. I mean that…for both of us," he added but the teen still looked unsure. "I dunno what Ichigo's gunna say to you when you get to talk to him again but I know he really appreciates everything you did, from letting us crash here to, well, you know," he gave a sly smile.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just let me rest, okay?" Uryu was almost asleep even as he spoke. He didn't want to think about talking to Ichigo or anything really. He just wanted sleep.

"Yeah, okay," Kon smiled gently down at the dark-haired teen and, brushing a few stray hairs from his eyes, gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Ichigo was so close to orgasm that his vision was blurring. "Oh, shit!" he hissed. "Shinji!" he gasped.

Hearing his name so many times, pleased Shinji to no end. He loved hearing his two syllables flow so naturally from his lover's lips over and over. He wanted to tell Ichigo how sexy that was but knew better than to withdraw while the member in his mouth was twitching with impeding release so he simply hummed a little with satisfaction and forced him over the edge. The intensity of the orgasm was poorly portrayed by the few tiny spurts of cum he received but the groaning moan the other gave more than made up for it.

Shinji gave a silly little smile upward at his panting boyfriend, "Thanks."

Ichigo returned the smile, "Yeah," he barely replied, his head still swimming from the release.

He wanted to tell the orange-haired vizard how sexy he looked when he was spent like that but decided to save it for another time. Instead, he laid down on the couch with his naked lover and they drifted to sleep together.

* * *

Kon and Uryu woke late the following morning. The apartment was quiet, save a few birds still singing out side the window, and it put them at ease.

"You hungry?" the quincy asked when he felt his stomach about to growl.

The mere mention of food made Kon's stomach do just that.

"I'll make breakfast," he agreed with a slight smile. He got dressed and tossed Kon a pair of sweat pants to wear in the meantime, as his clothes were still scattered about the living room.

They emerged a few minutes later and couldn't help smiling at the pair sleeping on the couch. Uryu thought it was more than a little odd that Shinji was still completely clothed, even with his shoes on, but let it go. Stranger things had happened in the last twenty-four hours than that.

"I'm surprised they didn't leave," Uryu mentioned as they entered the kitchenette.

"Ichigo wouldn't just leave me here like that," Kon dismissed.

"Oh? Doesn't trust you?" the quincy distractedly teased.

"Well, there's that," he joked because he knew that Ichigo trusted him much more than he was willing to admit even to himself, "and that's just not his way. Besides, they didn't have anywhere better to go."

"Right…" Uryu dryly agreed.

The whistle of the tea kettle was what awakened the pair sleeping on the couch. Ichigo started violently and nearly knocked Shinji onto the floor. If the blonde hadn't been holding onto him, he very well might have. After a second of panic, he realized there was nothing to panic about and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sounds like breakfast," Shinji half-teased, sitting up and running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make at least a little presentable.

Ichigo frowned slightly.

"What's the matter?" the blonde vizard asked quietly.

"Oh, um…I dunno if I can…that is…seeing Uryu face to face," he stammered.

"If he was as okay as you assured me last night, then it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Shinji sternly reminded.

"Yeah…you're probably right…" Ichigo agreed even though his stomach still had butterflies and he redressed to join the pair in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sleepy head!" Kon greeted merrily.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the enthusiasm.

"Good morning," Shinji greeted back when he saw his boyfriends irritation.

"Morning," Uryu distractedly obliged as they sat down. He served them eggs and toast a minute later as he joined them.

Their breakfast was awkward but not too bad. Uryu, Kon, and Ichigo were so hungry that they couldn't bring themselves to care too much about that and when they were finished, Kon got dressed and they took their leave.

"Uh, you guys go ahead. I'll catch up in a minute," Ichigo told Kon and Shinji as they were exiting.

"Oh? You gunna try for a quickie before we leave'im alone?" Kon teased.

Ichigo gave a sound of irritation and pushed him out the door.

"Look…Uryu…" he blushed, "I'm really so-" he was cut off before he could finish.

"Kurosaki, after all that, don't you _dare_ apologize," the quincy scolded.

"Uh, yeah, okay. Thanks for everything. I really mean that," he said instead, barely able to make eye contact.

"Yeah, okay," Uryu barely replied, feeling his face starting to light up with a matching blush.

"I…I won't bother you like this again," Ichigo continued.

Uryu rolled his eyes and pushed up his glasses. "You're always a bother but don't count this as one of those times."

That made Ichigo smile almost stupidly. "Yeah. See ya." He finally left, allowing Uryu to clean up the rest of the mess in peace.


End file.
